Abstract
Development of the gonads. To understand the physiology and pathophysiology of sexual functions, one should first know how the gameteproducing glands — the ovary and testis — develop in the fetus. The gonads are derived from two different tissues. The somatic mesenchymal tissue forms the matrix of the gonads, whereas the primordial germ tissue later gives rise to the gametes. The primordial germ tissue migrates into the matrix of mesenchymal tissue in about the third week of pregnancy. At this time it is not yet possible to distinguish male from female gonads; that is, they are still in the indifferent stage.
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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Wuttke, W. (1989). Sexual Functions. In: Schmidt, R.F., Thews, G. (eds) Human Physiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73831-9_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73831-9_32
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