hermaphroditism

The presence in one individual of both ovarian and testicular tissue; i.e., true h.. SYN: hermaphrodism.

- adrenal h. altered appearance of the genitalia due to disorders of adrenocortical function, most often female virilization; not an example of true h..

- bilateral h. true h. with an ovotestis on both sides.

- dimidiate h. SYN: lateral h..

- false h. SYN: pseudohermaphroditism.

- female h. ambiguity of reproductive organs so that the sex of the individual is neither exclusively male or female, but predominantly female h. in which only ovaries are present.

- lateral h. a form in which a testis is present on one side and an ovary on the other. SYN: dimidiate h..

- male h. more correctly designated as male pseudohermaphroditism, as the term is commonly used; however, it may designate an instance of true h. in which overt bodily characteristics are predominantly male h. in which only testes are present.

- transverse h. pseudohermaphroditism in which the external genitalia are characteristic of one sex and the gonads are characteristic of the other sex.

- true h. h. in which both ovarian and testicular tissue are present. Somatic characteristics of both sexes are present; also called true intersex.

- unilateral h. h. in which the doubling of sex characteristics occurs on one side only: ovotestis on one side and either ovary or testis on the other.

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her·maph·ro·dit·ism (.)hər-'maf-rə-.dīt-.iz-əm n the condition of being a hermaphrodite called also hermaphrodism

her·maph·ro·dit·ic (.)hər-.maf-rə-'dit-ik adj

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her·maph·ro·di·tism (hər-mafґrə-dĭ-tiz″əm) [Gr. hermaphroditos hermaphrodite] the presence of both male and female gonadal tissue in the same individual. True hermaphroditism (q.v.) is distinguished from male pseudohermaphroditism and female pseudohermaphroditism. Called also gynandrism, hermaphrodism, and intersexuality. hermaphroditic adj