1. Gene sex
At the gene level, SRY gene is generally regarded as a sex determination gene, that is, it develops into a boy and does not. It is found that SRY is only one of many genes that affect gender development. At present, more than ten genes related to gender development have been found, which regulate the development of fetal sexual characteristics from different developmental stages. Problems at any stage will cause abnormal sexual development, which will make the child show vague sexual characteristics after birth.
2. Chromosome sex
At the chromosome level, human beings have 23 pairs of 46 chromosomes, of which 22 pairs of 44 chromosomes are called autosomes, which mainly regulate the development of the body, while those related to gender development are called sex chromosomes, which are usually expressed by "X" and "Y". The karyotype of normal male sex chromosomes is: 46, xy; The karyotype of normal female sex chromosomes is: 46, XX. It is generally believed that if there is Y chromosome in the chromosome of human embryo, it will develop into a boy; If you lack the Y chromosome, you will develop into a girl. However, some people show abnormal sexual development due to changes in the number or structure of sex chromosomes. For example, the karyotype of sex chromosomes is 45, XO, which shows female dysplasia; Another example is that the karyotype of chromosome is 48, XXXY, which shows male dysplasia. Of course, autosomes also have a certain influence on gender development, but they have a great influence on the whole body development, and gender identification is generally not considered.
3. Gonadal sex
Gonadal sex mainly refers to the composition of baby's gonad tissue. The gonad is the main position of baby's sex hormone synthesis, and sex hormone is the main messenger to regulate the development of sexual characteristics. Therefore, abnormal gonads will affect the baby's sexual characteristics. The gonad of a boy is testis tissue, while that of a girl is ovary tissue. Abnormal gonad tissue will inevitably lead to abnormal sexual characteristics. In medical clinic, people actually divide the baby's sex mainly according to the characteristics of gonad tissue. When the gonad is testis, regardless of the shape of vulva, it is divided into boys. If the shape of vulva is close to that of girls, it is called male pseudohermaphroditism. When the gonad is ovary, it is divided into girls, and if the vulva is like a boy, it is called female pseudohermaphroditism. Only when the gonad contains both ovarian and testicular tissues is it called true hermaphroditism. In patients with true hermaphroditism, due to the different proportion of testis and ovary, the baby's sexual characteristics will also have a certain tendency.
4. Sex of genitals
Human genitals can be divided into two parts, the inner part and the outer part. The gender of external genitalia is the most familiar gender division method, that is, according to the appearance of external genitalia under direct vision, boys are penis, scrotum and testis, and girls are clitoris, labia and vagina; The sex of internal genitalia generally needs to be determined by professional examination. Boys are spermatic cord, seminal vesicle and prostate, while girls are uterus, fallopian tube and ovary. People's confusion about the baby's gender often comes from the non-confirmation of the external genital gender. When the boy's external genitalia is stunted, it is very similar to the girl's vulva, and sometimes it may be wrong for many years if you don't pay attention. Therefore, some people were not found to be wrong with their previous sex until their teens, and they came to the hospital for treatment. What caused this? It turns out that from the perspective of embryonic development, the boy's vulva and the girl's vulva are developed from the same primordia under the influence of different hormones. When the hormone level is disordered, it will inevitably lead to vague sexual characteristics.
5. Psychological gender
Psychological gender refers to the baby's identification with his own gender, which is related to gene regulation and genetic factors, and also related to family education and role identification. It is generally believed that gender identification begins at the age of 1-2 and is basically completed at the age of 3-5. Therefore, when the baby's sexual characteristics are vague, parents must take it for examination and treatment as soon as possible, so as to avoid the baby's "wrong" in gender identification and cause psychological and personality distortion.
6. Social gender
People are also familiar with social gender, which is generally called gender. It mainly refers to the identification of the baby's gender in the living environment, including the identification of family, friends, surrounding people, social institutions and legal organs.
tip: generally speaking, the gender of the first five levels is hard to change, and only social gender can be changed to some extent. Nevertheless, changing gender still needs to change the complicated procedures such as living environment, hospital certificate and judicial approval. Therefore, it is very important to be cautious about the initial sex of the baby. How to prevent the baby from having abnormal sexual characteristics? People can't help asking, how can we find out that the baby has abnormal sexual characteristics? What should I do if I feel confused?
1. After the baby is born or growing up, it is necessary to carefully observe the genital shape and developmental state. Sexual development is a continuous process. Because of the different pathogenesis, sometimes the baby can show obvious sexual abnormality at birth, but sometimes it will not be seen until the baby develops to a certain stage. Therefore, as parents, we must carefully observe the baby's genital shape and development status. If you are not sure whether there is a problem, you can compare it with other babies of the same age and gender, and seek medical advice as soon as you find the problem. Nowadays, with the rapid development of medicine, the identification of some genes and chromosomes and the detection of sex hormone levels can be checked in larger hospitals. After preliminary screening, you can roughly determine the baby's gender. If there are other problems, further examination can be done under the guidance of specialists in order to determine the cause and treat the syndrome.
2. During pregnancy, it should not be overemphasized that abnormal fetal development is one of the most common congenital malformations in human beings. Besides uncontrollable genetic factors, human intervention is also an important cause of malformations. Related studies have found that spontaneous abortion is an important mechanism for self-protection of human genetic stability, and nearly half of spontaneous abortion children have chromosomal abnormalities. Therefore, too much emphasis on fetal protection can easily lead to the birth of deformed children.
3. Don't use hormone drugs at will or supplement the use of hormone drugs in the elderly, which is not conducive to the development of the fetus. Recently, with the wide application of chemical drugs in agriculture and aquaculture, the content of hormone-like pollutants in many foods is very high, and improper food supplement is likely to cause fetal developmental disorders. It has been reported that the incidence of hypospadias among boys born to vegetarian mothers is twice as high as that of omnivorous mothers, which is probably due to the high pesticide contained in vegetables, which has similar effects to sex hormones and has an impact on the development of boys. In order to increase the yield of some fish, estrogen-stimulating drugs may be fed, and excessive consumption of these aquatic products may also affect the normal sexual development of male fetuses. Tip: Gender is one of the most important attributes of the baby, and correctly confirming gender has a very important impact on the baby's psychological and physical development. Young parents must make careful observation and repeated verification before they can draw a conclusion. Before they are in doubt, they must draw more question marks in their hearts, boy? Girl? ..... (Text/Li Sen Li Qiang Editor: Zhao Jingwen)
Expert profile
Li Sen, doctoral tutor of plastic surgery hospital of China Academy of Medical Sciences, member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, member of plastic surgery branch of Chinese Medical Association, editorial board of China Plastic Surgery Journal, standing editorial board of China Practical Plastic Surgery Journal, served as vice president of plastic surgery hospital in 1996 and enjoyed the award from the State Council. He has made great achievements in many fields, such as the application of buried guided suture technology, the research of minimally invasive plastic surgery, breast reconstruction, cleft lip, velopharyngeal closed disease, facial paralysis, phimosis and hypospadias, and won six national utility model patents and the clinical achievement award of China Academy of Medical Sciences and the scientific and technological progress award of the Ministry of Health for many times. Associate Professor, Plastic Surgery Hospital, China Academy of Medical Sciences, Li Qiang, editorial board member of China Journal of Practical Plastic Surgery, and postdoctoral fellow in plastic surgery, China Academy of Medical Sciences. He has certain accomplishments in plastic surgery, minimally invasive cosmetic surgery, aging face plastic surgery, facial paralysis correction, hand and foot deformity correction, scar correction and many other aspects.