Gonadal dysgenesis

What is gonadal dysgenesis?

A baby with gonadal dysgenesis is born with two different gonads: an undescended testis and an improperly formed “streak” gonad.

In normal fetal development, gonads become either ovaries (in females) or testes (in males). In the case of gonadal dysgenesis, these two different gonads can’t produce normal sex hormones, so the child also has malformed sex organs.

Children with this condition usually have ambiguous sex organs, so it’s difficult to classify them as “girl” or “boy.” Many people with this condition are able to have children with the help of modern fertility procedures, though most will not be able to reproduce naturally.

Gonadal dysgenesis is one of the most common disorders of sexual dysfunction and a common cause of ambiguous genitalia.

What are the signs and symptoms of gonadal dysgenesis?

Children with gonadal dysgenesis do not typically have any symptoms, though they do tend to be shorter than average.

What are the causes of gonadal dysgenesis?

Gonadal dysgenesis occurs due to abnormal development of a baby's gonads while they are in their mother's womb.