A group of conditions in which the external sex organs are not clearly male or female, or in which they appear to be those of the opposite chromosomal sex.
This may result from an abnormality of the sex chromosomes or a hormonal disorder (see hermaphroditism; sex determination; adrenal hyperplasia, congenital).
The external organs of reproduction. The term is usually applied to the external parts of the reproductive system: the VULVA in females and PENIS and SCROTUM in males. Rarely the sex of an individual may not be apparent from the genitalia. Genitals develop from a common embryonic structure, and disturbances in the hormone controls of the developing genitalia may produce an individual whose external genitalia are ambiguous. The condition is known as intersex. The individual may be HERMAPHRODITE or PSEUDOHERMAPHRODITE.... genitalia
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