Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction.It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles in a male.
As puberty begins and sex hormone levels rise, differences appear, though some changes are similar in males and females. Male levels of testosterone directly induce the growth of the genitals, and indirectly (via dihydrotestosterone (DHT)) the prostate. Estradiol and other hormones cause breasts to develop in females.
Upper body of a teenage boy. The structure has changed to resemble an adult form. Puberty is a period of several years in which rapid physical growth and psychological changes occur, culminating in sexual maturity. The average age of onset of puberty is 10–11 for girls and 11–12 for boys.
The gradual growth in sex difference throughout a person's life is a product of various hormones. Testosterone is the major active hormone in male development while estrogen is the dominant female hormone. These hormones are not, however, limited to each sex. Both males and females have both testosterone and estrogen. [107]
During puberty, hormones which stimulate androgen production result in the development of secondary sexual characteristics that result in even more differences between the sexes. These include greater muscle mass , greater height, the growth of facial hair and a lower body fat composition.
[1] [2] This includes the embryological development of the primary male sex organs, and the development of male secondary sex characteristics at puberty. Androgens are synthesized in the testes, the ovaries, and the adrenal glands. Androgens increase in both males and females during puberty. [3] The major androgen in males is testosterone. [4]
During puberty, increased gonadotropin secretion stimulates a rise in sex steroids creation from the testes. The increased secretion of testosterone from the testes during puberty causes the male secondary sexual characteristics to be manifested. [16] Male secondary sex characteristics include:
In invertebrates and plants, hermaphrodites (which have both male and female reproductive organs either at the same time or during their life cycle) are common, and in many cases, the norm. In other varieties of multicellular life (e.g. the fungi division, Basidiomycota ), sexual characteristics can be much more complex, and may involve many ...