Question

What are endocrine glands? Why and how does pseudohermaphroditism develop in a man?

Answer 1

Endocrine glands are glands of the endocrine system that secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood rather than through a duct. The major glands of the endocrine system include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, hypothalamus and adrenal glands.

Male pseudohermaphroditism refers to individuals whose gonads are testes but whose secondary sexual characteristics or external genitalia resemble those of a female. It develops because of following causes-

• In some persons, tissue receptors for androgens are absent or reduced. Mutations affecting the androgen receptor (AR) gene may cause either complete or partial androgen insensitivity syndrome.
  
• Testosterone secreted by the fetal testes is converted to dihydrotestosterone by an enzyme 5α-reductase. Deficiency of 5α-reductase may result in ambiguity in sexual differentiation and pseudohermaphroditism.
• Leydig cells (the interstitial cells of the testes) are absent or greatly reduced in number because the receptors for luteinizing hormone (LH) are defective. Without Leydig cells, only small amounts of testosterone are produced.