Asked by ant

What are the differences in sex development?
The term “differences in sex development”, or DSD, is used to refer to a wide range of different scenarios, with the NHS describing it as a “group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs, including genitals” which “means a person’s sex development is different to most other people’s”.

Individuals can either have sex chromosomes generally linked with being female (XX chromosomes) or usually associated with being a man (XY chromosomes), yet have reproductive organs and genitals that may look different.

The NHS states that “a person may have a womb and may also have testicles inside their body. Sometimes the testicles might not work properly”.

It adds: “Some people with a very rare type of DSD have both ovarian and testicular tissue (sometimes one ovary and one testis). Their genitals may appear female or male or could look different from either.”

Claus Højbjerg Gravholt, a professor of genetic endocrinology, said it is impossible to state everyone with a Y chromosome is a male and everyone with an X chromosome is a female.

Professor Højbjerg Gravholt, who is based at Aarhus University in Denmark and works with patients who have differences in sex development, added: “If I showed you pictures of my patients without any clothes on, you would say, well, these are females that I'm looking at.

“But, in fact, they actually have a Y chromosome. And so it’s really coming back to, what is sex? Is sex something you can see out of the chromosomes? No, it’s not. Is sex something that you can see depending on which hormone, estrogen, or testosterone you preferentially produce? No, it’s not. Sex is much more complicated.”



FILL IN THE BLANKS: DSD refers to
. It can be influenced by

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
FILL IN THE BLANKS:

DSD refers to a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs (including genitals) in which a person’s sex development differs from typical male or female patterns.

It can be influenced by chromosomes and genes, hormone levels or action (e.g. estrogen/testosterone), and the presence, structure or function of gonads and reproductive organs (including rare mixes of ovarian and testicular tissue).