Abstract
ANY discussion of mechanisms in mammalian sex differentiation must consider two classes of chemical mediators: embryonic inductors and androgenic steroid hormones. The inductors, the chemical nature of which is unknown, play a vital part in differentiating the gonad and probably the secondary sex ducts1, while the steroids are credited with influencing behaviour and brain–pituitary functions2. However, the definitive experiment obligating androgen as the organizer of the male type brain–pituitary axis has not been carried out. This communication describes a bilateral hermaphrodite occurring in Nature, which casts doubt on the indispensability of androgen for determining a male type of hypophysial-hypothalamic axis.
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References
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JOHNSON, D. An Anovulatory Bilateral Hermaphroditic Rat. Nature 210, 1287–1288 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/2101287a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2101287a0
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