THE EXCRETION OF NEUTRAL 17-KETOSTEROIDS IN TWO CASES OF MALE PSEUDOHERMAPHRODITISM

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Abstract
THE term, male pseudohermaphroditism, is ordinarily used to designate individuals whose gonads are testes and in whom some of the female organs of reproduction are present. The two cases reported in this paper fall in this class. Conversely, female pseudohermaphroditism refers to the condition in which the gonads are ovaries and some of the male organs of reproduction are present. In female pseudohermaphroditism it seems probable that the development of the clitoris into a short hypospadic penis and the formation of a male type of perineum is brought about by excessive androgenic activity of the fetal adrenals. There is no absolute proof of this, obviously, but the known hyperactivity of the adrenals following birth in four cases which have been studied by W. M. Allen (2) makes this explanation plausible. The hormonal relations in the male pseudohermaphrodite, on the other hand, which might explain the abnormalities of development are not so evident. [For detailed discussion see Young (11).]