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Genital tubercle - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Bilge, Blain, Blister, Blob, Boil, Boss, Bow, Bubble, Bubo, Bulb, Bulge, Bulla, Bump, Bunion, Burl, Button, Canker, Carbuncle, Chancre, Chancroid |
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A genital tubercle is a body of tissue which forms in the ventral, caudal region of mammalian embryos of both sexes, and eventually develops into a phallus. In the human fetus the genital tubercle develops around week 4 of gestation, and by week 9 becomes recognizably either a clitoris or penis.
The genital tubercle is sensitive to dihydrotestosterone and rich in 5-alpha-reductase, so that the amount of fetal testosterone present after the second month is a major determinant of phallus size at birth.
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