>Is there a possibility of human hermaphrodite? If yes, what would be the
>phenotype, if the genotype is a)XX and b)XY. Would they be fertile?
I'm not a geneticist, but will quote a few lines from "Genetics in Medicine"
by Thompson & Thompson (1986):
"In some newborn infants, assignment of sex is difficult or impossible
because the genetalia are ambiguous . . . . The anomalies vary through a
spectrum . . . , with many intermediate states and many degress of
severity.
...
True hermaphroditism is very rare. A true hermaphrodite has both testicular
and ovarian tissue, either as two separate organs or as a single ovotestis,
not necessarily functional but histologically identifiable. The internal
and external sexual organs are very variable and not in any way diagnostic.
...
The great majority of hermaphrodites are XX, some are XY and others are
not chromosomally normal but are XX/XY chimeras or mosaics. . . ."
There then follows a page-and-a-half on pseudorhermaphroditism in this chapter
on disorders of the sex chromosomes, which follows a chapter on chromosomal
aberrations in general.
________________________________________________________________________________
The opinions stated are mine, not those of NCTR or its sponsoring organizations.
Bill Melchior || "You have lawyers the way
National Center for Toxicological Research || other people have mice."
Jefferson, AR 72079 ||
(501) 543-7206 || -Kenneth Duncan, English
|| Health & Safety Executive,
WMELCHIOR at NTDOC.NCTR.FDA.GOV || to US regulators
