Biological Foundation Of Adult Sexual Development

722 Words3 Pages
Biological Foundation of Adult Sexual Development Paper Adult sexual development has many different stages of sexual development. During the stages of sexual development the stages go though many different processes of sexual differentiation. In the stages, there are biological changes in sexual development sexual development and sexual differentiation. In adult sexual development the stages begin at birth and end with puberty as the final stage of development. Sexual Development and Differentiation The sperm and ova also known as the gametes which is another term for sperm and ova. The gametes each contain twenty-three single chromosomes. When the sperm and ova come together during fertilization this is when the chromosomes become paired. When it comes to male and females there are genetic differences. If the fertilized egg receives both XX chromosomes then the egg will become female. If the fertilized egg receives XY chromosomes then the egg will become male. In the sixth week of fetal development is when the first signs of sex difference begin to show. Before the sixth week, the development is the same. The embryo contains two tubular ducts that can become male or female. The Wolffian duct will develop into the male reproductive system and the Mullerian duct will develop into the female reproductive system. When it comes to the embryo, it will only develop into male or female. When males begin to develop the Y chromosome makes a chemical called testis-determining factor. The testis-determining factor makes the fetal gonadal tissue to develop into testes. In the 12th week of gestation, the females will begin to develop ovaries. At the 8th to 12th weeks, the genitals begin to appear and the hormonal changes begin for internal development (Wickens, 2008). Hormones and behavior The last stage of sexual development by the start of puberty when the body starts
Open Document