TY - JOUR
T1 - Morphology of the external genitalia of the adult male and female mice as an endpoint of sex differentiation
AU - Weiss, Dana A
AU - Rodriguez Jr., Esequiel
AU - Cunha, Tristan J
AU - Menshenina, Julia
AU - Barcellos, Dale
AU - Chan, Lok Yun
AU - Risbridger, Gail P
AU - Baskin, Laurence S
AU - Cunha, Gerald R
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Adult external genitalia (ExG) are the endpoints of normal sex differentiation. Detailed morphometric analysis and comparison of adult mouse ExG has revealed 10 homologous features distinguishing the penis and clitoris that define masculine vs. feminine sex differentiation. These features have enabled the construction of a simple metric to evaluate various intersex conditions in mutant or hormonally manipulated mice. This review focuses on the morphology of the adult mouse penis and clitoris through detailed analysis of histologic sections, scanning electron microscopy, and three-dimensional reconstruction. We also present previous results from evaluation of non-traditional mammals, such as the spotted hyena and wallaby to demonstrate the complex process of sex differentiation that involves not only androgen-dependent processes, but also estrogen-dependent and hormone-independent mechanisms.
AB - Adult external genitalia (ExG) are the endpoints of normal sex differentiation. Detailed morphometric analysis and comparison of adult mouse ExG has revealed 10 homologous features distinguishing the penis and clitoris that define masculine vs. feminine sex differentiation. These features have enabled the construction of a simple metric to evaluate various intersex conditions in mutant or hormonally manipulated mice. This review focuses on the morphology of the adult mouse penis and clitoris through detailed analysis of histologic sections, scanning electron microscopy, and three-dimensional reconstruction. We also present previous results from evaluation of non-traditional mammals, such as the spotted hyena and wallaby to demonstrate the complex process of sex differentiation that involves not only androgen-dependent processes, but also estrogen-dependent and hormone-independent mechanisms.
UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=21893161
U2 - 10.1016/j.mce.2011.08.009
DO - 10.1016/j.mce.2011.08.009
M3 - Article
VL - 354
SP - 94
EP - 102
JO - Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
JF - Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
SN - 0303-7207
IS - 1-2
ER -