Sex Differences and Defects
 Menstruation
 Circumcision
 Disorders of the Male Sex Organs
 Disorders of the Female Sex Organs
Menstruation
The sloughing off of built-up uterine lining that recurs in non pregnant
women from menarche to menopause.
 The time from the beginning of one menstrual period to the beginning
of the next (typically 28 days)
 Menarche: First menstrual cycle.
 Menopause: Last menstrual cycle.
___________________________________________________
• A woman who has two pregnancies will average about 500 menstrual
cycles in her lifetime.
• Menstrual fluid is a mix of blood, mucus, and cells from the
endometrium (the lining of the uterus)
• If fertilization does not occur, the uterine lining sheds off and is
discharged as menstrual flow.
Menstruation
I. Menarche:
• The initial onset of menstruation in life and signals the beginning of puberty.
• Average age is about 12 years.
____________________________________________________________
II. Length and Frequency of the Menstrual cycle:
•
•
•
•
Measured from the first day of menstrual flow to the day before the next flow begins.
24 to 42 days,
Average of 28 days.
Vary for a number of reasons:
▫ Travel to a different time zone.
▫ Sleep deprivation.
▫ Stress.
▫ Changes in diet and exercise.
Menstruation
Menstrual synchrony in humans is the convergence over several
months of the dates of onset of menstrual periods among women
who are in close contact with each other.
Circumcision: Male
• Surgical removal of the prepuce or foreskin of the penis.
• For more than 3,000 years, Jewish families have been circumcising
their newborn males on the eighth day after birth as a sign of their
covenant with God.
• Early 80’s-90’s: 84-91%
• Today: 60%
Medical value:
• Uncircumcised boys have four times the risk of getting urinary tract
infections in their first year. (the risk is still only 1 in 100)
• Studies suggest that circumcised men have a reduced risk of
contracting HIV and spreading the disease.
Circumcision: Male
• Others oppose what they see as an unnecessary, traumatic surgical
procedure that poses possible complications including hemorrhage,
infections, mutilation, shock, psychological trauma, and even death
in rare cases.
Circumcision: Male
Historically:
• The only surgical procedure that is routinely performed without first
administering analgesia or anesthesia.
Circumcision: Female
Defined: Ritual excision of the vulva.
• Misnomer- The vulva is not a foreskin.
• More correctly referred to as Female Genital Mutilation.
• This would be better compared with a complete removal of all the
sexually sensitive skin on the male penis which is far more drastic
than male circumcision.
Disorders of the Male Sex Organs
Prostate Cancer: Second only to skin cancer as a leading cancer
killer among American men.
• One in six American men will develop
prostate cancer.
• More than 80% of men with prostate
cancer are over the age of 65.
Prostatitis: Inflammation of the
prostate gland, common disorder that
may occur in men of any age.
Disorders of the Male Sex Organs
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH): Noncancerous
enlargement of the prostate.
• Happens naturally with ageing.
• As the prostate enlarges, the surrounding capsule stops it from
expanding, causing the gland to press against the urethra.
Testicular Cancer: Cancer of the testis.
• Relatively few men routinely perform
self-examination.
Disorders of the Male Sex Organs
Testicular Torsion: Occurs when a testis is rotated, twisting
the spermatic cord.
• May cut off blood flow to the testicles and surrounding
structures.
Epididymitis: Inflammation of the epididymis.
• Infection is the most common causal factor.
Disorders of the Male Sex Organs
Penile Cancer: Cancer cells are found on the skin and in the tissues
of the penis.
• Very rare: Accounts for less than ½ percent of all malignancies in
the United States.
• Occurs in men over the age of 50
Peyronie’s Disease: Characterized by a
bending or curving of the erect penis.
• Many researchers believe it is caused by
damage to the erectile bodies.
Disorders of the Female Sexual Organs
Endometriosis: Condition in which endometrial tissue grows in
pelvic regions outside the uterus.
• Non-life-threatening condition.
• Typically the tissue growth occurs in the pelvic area.
• 10 to 20% of women during their reproductive years.
• 15-50% among infertile women.
Endometrial Cancer: Cancer originating in the lining of the uterus.
• Nearly all of these life-threatening cancers occur in the form of
adenocarcinomas (tumors of glandular cells).
• Most common malignancy of the female reproductive organs.
Endometriosis
Disorders of the Female Sexual Organs
Uterine Fibroids: Balls of solid tissue that can grow inside
the uterus, within the uterine wall, or outside the uterine wall.
• Can range in size from a grain of rice to a basketball.
• Affects up to 25% of women over the age of 30.
• African American women are three to nine times more likely
to be affected.
• Cancerous in less than 1% of the cases.
Cervical Cancer: Cancer of the lower portion of the uterus,
begins in the lining of the cervix and does not form suddenly.
Uterine Fibroids
Disorders of the Female Sexual Organs
Ovarian Cysts: Balloonlike swellings of fluid contained within an
envelope of ovarian tissue.
• Most are harmless and will go
away without any treatment.
Ovarian Cancer: Most common ovarian cancer in women age 55-80
is adenocarcinoma.
Disorders of the Female Sexual Organs
Vulvar Cancer: Most often affects the inner edges of the labia
majora or the labia minora.
• Less often vulvar cancer occurs on the clitoris or the
Bartholin’s glands.
• Second most common type of vulvar cancer (4%) is
melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.
Disorders of the Female Sexual Organs
Vaginitis: Inflammation of the vagina, typically caused by bacteria or
yeast infection.
Breast cancer: Breast cancer represents 30% of all female cancers,
affecting approximately 110 women per 100,000.