HUMAN SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION—IN UTERO INFLUENCES

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Abstract
Summary: Measurement of the plasma testosterone in fetuses of 12 to 18 weeks' gestation showed levels in the male fetus that were nine times those of the female but that the amounts in the male fetuses declined until at term there was no significant difference between the sexes. Maternal plasma levels rose during pregnancy but the fetal sex could not be ascertained from maternal levels. Preliminary evidence of steroid uptake by the fetal hypothalamus is presented. It is suggested that HCG is responsible for the differentiation of the male internal and external genitalia in the human because it seems to stimulate androgen production by the fetal testis.

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