As you may remember, the genital system consists of two parts; internal gonads and external genitalia.
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In addition (to make it more complicated!), there are two types of genital systems; female and male (but you knew that of course!).
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Since the gender of the fetus has been determined at the earliest moment of its existence (XX or XY), the development of the ‘correct’ genital system starts immediately in the first few weeks of its existence.
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This development takes place in the male and the female gonads (=reproductive organs), which are the ovaries in females and testis in males.
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These gonads (will) produce sperm and egg cells respectively, but also the hormones, which makes these gonads also function as glands. They produce mainly estrogens or testosterones, depending on the sex of the fetus.
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The external genitalia are of course crucial in the development of the (human) species. These are the organs that make it possible for the sperm cell to ‘meet’ the egg!
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As you may realize, the development of the genital system is quite complicated and well researched in embryology. This goes beyond the scope of this site.
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However, there is one item which I want to present; the development of the external genitalia.
1. I like this diagram because it shows very nicely how the (external) genitalia develop at such an early stage in the fetus.
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But another reason I like it is that it shows how similar the female and the male (external) genitalia actually are. We always think that the two systems are very different, even the opposite of each other but that is not really true.
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For example, the clitoris and the penile glans are actually the same type of sensor.
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And of course, many people are impressed with the penile shaft but it has been shown recently that a similar shaft is also present in the females, but it is located inside the body, behind the vaginal system.
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In fact, both systems look very similar with the exception that one is located more outside while the other is located more inside the body.
6. That makes it possible for us to reproduce! In other words, we are very alike each other.