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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.
Gonadarche marks the beginning of puberty and it is the process in which gonads, or the primary reproductive organs, mature, following stimulation of gonadotropin hormone-releasing hormone (GnRH) release in the hypothalamus. [6] The release of GnRH triggers a release of hormones that activate the maturation of the ovary and testis. [3]
The person may have no physical or hormonal signs that puberty has begun. In the United States, girls are considered to have delayed puberty if they lack breast development by age 13 or have not started menstruating by age 15. [1] [2] Boys are considered to have delayed puberty if they lack enlargement of the testicles by age 14. [2]
It can manifest as precocious puberty, and is caused by abnormally high levels of testosterone or estrogen, crucial hormones for sexual development. In some cases, it may be caused by a tumor, which can be malignant, but is more commonly benign. [2] Anabolic steroids may also be a major cause of high androgen and estrogen functional activity.
[1] [6] Moreover, puberty is considered delayed if breast development does not start at age 13 or if a female has not had her first period within three years of thelarche. [7] Additionally, secondary breast development occurring before the age of 7 years could be a sign of premature thelarche or precocious puberty. Of note, for some girls ...
Gynecomastia of boys going through puberty. Hormonal imbalance (elevated ratio of estrogen to androgen) during early puberty, either due to decreased androgen production from the adrenals and/or increased conversion of androgens to estrogens, leads to transient gynecomastia in adolescent males.
In most boys, these changes are indistinguishable from early testicular testosterone effects occurring at the beginning of gonadal puberty. In girls, the adrenal androgens of adrenarche produce most of the early androgenic changes of puberty: pubic hair, body odor, skin oiliness, and acne.
Shows the normal hormonal control of puberty from the hypothalamus down to the testes or ovaries and their negative feedback mechanisms. The negative feedback control allows just the right amount of hormone to be released according to the needs of the body at that time.