Eunuch Health Dictionary

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Eunuch: From 2 Different Sources

A man whose testes have been removed or destroyed so that he is sterile and lacks male hormones. A male who has been castrated before puberty will have broad hips, narrow shoulders, and undeveloped male secondary sexual characteristics.
Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association
A man whose testes (see TESTICLE) have been removed or seriously damaged so that he is unable to produce male hormones and thus is sterile. A male castrated before puberty will have a feminine appearance and underdeveloped secondary sexual characteristics. The term was historically used to describe boys, castrated to make them suitable for working in harems, or boy singers, castrated to retain their higher-register voices (castrati singers).
Health Source: Medical Dictionary
Author: Health Dictionary

Klinefelter’s Syndrome

The original syndrome described by Klinefelter consisted of GYNAECOMASTIA, testicular ATROPHY and INFERTILITY. Intelligence was unimpaired. Patients have been described who have associated mental defects and striking tallness of stature, but the only constant feature of the syndrome is testicular atrophy with resulting azoospermia and infertility.

The atrophy of the testis is the result of ?brosis, which begins to appear in childhood and progresses until all the seminiferous tubules are replaced by ?brous tissue. Gynaecomastia, mental retardation and eunuchoidism (see EUNUCH; loss of male secondary sexual characteristics – small penis, loss of body hair and a high-pitched voice) may be present. Most patients with Klinefelter’s syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46. The extra chromosome is an X chromosome, so that the sex chromosome constitution is XXY instead of XY. Klinefelter’s syndrome is one of the most common chromosome abnormalities and occurs in 1 in 300 of the male population. Patients with this syndrome show that the Y chromosome is strongly sex-determining: thus, a patient who has an XXY chromosome constitution may have the appearance of a normal male, with infertility the only incapacity, while the loss of a Y chromosome leads to the development of a bodily form which is essentially feminine (see TURNER’S SYNDROME).... klinefelter’s syndrome

Gigantism

n. abnormal growth causing excessive height, most commonly due to oversecretion during childhood of *growth hormone (somatotrophin) by the pituitary gland. In eunuchoid gigantism the tall stature is due to delayed puberty, which results in continued growth of the long bones before their growing ends (epiphyses) fuse. See also Sotos syndrome.... gigantism

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