A form of sexual behaviour, most common in men, in which intercourse between adults is not the final aim. Forms of sexual deviation include exhibitionism, fetishism, paedophilia, and transvestism.... BMA Medical Dictionary

(DSDs) see intersex.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

(DSDs) see intersex.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

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The process of producing offspring by the fusion of 2 cells from different individuals; this is achieved in humans by the fusion of 1 sperm and 1 ovum. This fusion (fertilization) is achieved by sexual intercourse or artificial insemination.... BMA Medical Dictionary

Preventive measures to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections; for example, maintaining a monogamous sexual relationship and using a condom.... BMA Medical Dictionary

The physical characteristics that develop during PUBERTY as the body matures sexually. Girls’ breasts and genitals increase in size, and, like boys, they grow pubic hair. Boys also grow facial hair, their voice breaks and their genitals grow to adult size.... Medical Dictionary

A major surgical operation, usually coupled with the appropriate hormone treatment (see HORMONES), to change a person’s anatomical sex. The operation is done on transsexual individuals or in those whose sexual organs are neither totally female nor male. Male-to-female sex change is the more common. Such operations should not be performed without rigorous physical and mental assessment of the individual, and should be accompanied by extensive counselling. Some subjects make a satisfactory adjustment to the change of anatomical sex, while others may suffer serious psychological problems. Hormone therapy may need to be continued for life.... Medical Dictionary

*chromatin found only in female cells and believed to represent a single X chromosome in a nondividing cell. It can be used to discover the sex of a baby before birth by examination of cells obtained by *amniocentesis or *chorionic villus sampling. There are two main kinds: (1) the Barr body, a small object that stains with basic dyes, found on the edge of the nucleus just inside the nuclear membrane; (2) a drumstick-like appendage to the nucleus in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell).... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

a chromosome that is involved in the determination of the sex of the individual. Women have two *X chromosomes; men have one X chromosome and one *Y chromosome. Compare autosome.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

In humans there are 23 pairs of CHROMOSOMES. Male and female di?er in respect of one pair. In the nucleus of female cells, the two members of the pair are identical and are called X chromosomes. In the male nucleus there is one X chromosome paired with a dissimilar, di?erently sized chromosome called the Y chromosome. In the sex cells, after MEIOSIS, all cells in the female contain a single X chromosome. In the male, half will contain an X chromosome and half a Y chromosome. If a sperm with an X chromosome fertilises an ovum (which, as stated, must have an X chromosome) the o?spring will be female; if a sperm with a Y chromosome fertilises the ovum the o?spring will be male. It is the sex chromosomes which determine the sex of an individual.

Sometimes during cell division chromosomes may be lost or duplicated, or abnormalities in the structure of individual chromosomes may occur. The surprising fact is the infrequency of such errors. About one in 200 live-born babies has an abnormality of development caused by a chromosome, and two-thirds of these involve the sex chromosomes. There is little doubt that the frequency of these abnormalities in the early embryo is much higher, but because of the serious nature of the defect, early spontaneous ABORTION occurs.

Chromosome studies on such early abortions show that half have chromosome abnormalities, with errors of autosomes being three times as common as sex chromosome anomalies. Two of the most common abnormalities in such fetuses are triploidy with 69 chromosomes and trisomy of chromosome 16. These two anomalies almost always cause spontaneous abortion. Abnormalities of chromosome structure may arise because of:

Deletion Where a segment of a chromosome is lost.

Inversion Where a segment of a chromosome becomes detached and re-attached the other way around. GENES will then appear in the wrong order and thus will not correspond with their opposite numbers on homologous chromosomes.

Duplication Where a segment of a chromosome is included twice over. One chromosome will have too little nuclear material and one too much. The individual inheriting too little may be non-viable and the one with too much may be abnormal.

Translocation Where chromosomes of different pairs exchange segments.

Errors in division of centromere Sometimes the centromere divides transversely instead of longitudinally. If the centromere is not central, one of the daughter chromosomes will arise from the two short arms of the parent chromosome and the other from the two long arms. These abnormal daughter chromosomes are called isochromosomes.

These changes have important bearings on heredity, as the e?ect of a gene depends not only upon its nature but also upon its position on the chromosome with reference to other genes. Genes do not act in isolation but against the background of other genes. Each gene normally has its own position on the chromosome, and this corresponds precisely with the positon of its allele on the homologous chromosome of the pair. Each member of a pair of chromosomes will normally carry precisely the same number of genes in exactly the same order. Characteristic clinical syndromes, due to abnormalities of chromosome structure, are less constant than those due to loss or gain of a complete chromosome. This is because the degree of deletion, inversion and duplication is inconstant. However, translocation between chromosomes 15 and 21 of the parent is associated with a familial form of mongolism (see DOWN’S (DOWN) SYNDROME) in the o?spring, and deletion of part of an X chromosome may result in TURNER’S SYNDROME.

Non-disjunction Whilst alterations in the structure of chromosomes arise as a result of deletion or translocation, alterations in the number of chromosomes usually arise as a result of non-disjunction occurring during maturation of the parental gametes (germ cells). The two chromosomes of each pair (homologous chromosomes) may fail to come together at the beginning of meiosis and continue to lie free. If one chromosome then passes to each pole of the spindle, normal gametes may result; but if both chromosomes pass to one pole and neither to the other, two kinds of abnormal gametes will be produced. One kind of gamete will contain both chromosomes of the pair, and the other gamete will contain neither. Whilst this results in serious disease when the autosomes are involved, the loss or gain of sex chromosomes seems to be well tolerated. The loss of an autosome is incompatible with life and the malformation produced by a gain of an autosome is proportional to the size of the extra chromosome carried.

Only a few instances of a gain of an autosome are known. An additional chromosome 21 (one of the smallest autosomes) results in mongolism, and trisomy of chromosome 13 and 18 is associated with severe mental, skeletal and congenital cardiac defects. Diseases resulting from a gain of a sex chromosome are not as severe. A normal ovum contains 22 autosomes and an X sex chromosome. A normal sperm contains 22 autosomes and either an X or a Y sex chromosome. Thus, as a result of nondisjunction of the X chromosome at the ?rst meiotic division during the formation of female gametes, the ovum may contain two X chromosomes or none at all, whilst in the male the sperm may contain both X and Y chromosomes (XY) or none at all. (See also CHROMOSOMES; GENES.)... Medical Dictionary

The factors that determine biological sex. The underlying determinants are the sex chromosomes which cause the differential development of the gonads in the embryo. In males, the testes then produce hormones that cause the male reproductive organs to

form. In the absence of these hormones, a female reproductive tract develops. At puberty, another surge of hormones produces secondary sexual characteristics.

Chromosomal abnormalities or hormonal defects can lead to ambiguous sex (see genitalia, ambiguous), although true hermaphroditism is rare.... BMA Medical Dictionary

Information given to children and young adults about sexual relationships. Evidence suggests that young people want more information about the emotional aspects of sexual relationships, and about homosexuality and AIDS/HIV. There is growing concern about sexual risk-taking behaviour among adolescents, many of whom feel that sex education was provided too late for them. Although most parents or guardians provide some guidance by the age of 16, friends, magazines, television and ?lms are a more signi?cant source of information. Schools have been targeted as a place to address and possibly limit risky behaviour because they are geared towards increasing knowledge and improving skills, and have a captive audience of young adults. There are concerns that the conditions in schools may not be ideal: class time is limited; teachers are often not trained in handling sensitive subjects; and considerable controversy surrounds teaching about subjects such as homosexuality.

Sex education in schools is regarded as an e?ective way of reducing teenaged pregnancy, especially when linked with contraceptive services. Several studies have shown that it does not cause an increase in sexual activity and may even delay the onset of sexual relationships and lessen the number of partners. Programmes taught by youth agencies may be even more e?ective than those taught in the classroom – possibly because teaching takes place in small groups of volunteer participants, and the programmes are tailored to their target populations. Despite improvements in sex education, the United Kingdom has the highest incidence of teenaged pregnancies in the European Community.

Sex education, including information about AIDS/HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), is compulsory in all state-maintained secondary schools in England and Wales. The National Curriculum includes only biological aspects of AIDS/HIV, STIs and human sexual behaviour.

All maintained schools must have a written statement of their policy, which is available to parents. The local education authority, governing body and headteacher should ensure that sex education encourages pupils to have due regard to moral considerations and the value of family life. Sex-education policies and practices are monitored by the O?ce for Standards in Education (OFSTED) and the O?ce of HM Chief Inspector of Schools (OHMCI) as part of school inspections.... Medical Dictionary

any steroid hormone, produced mainly by the ovaries or testes, that is responsible for controlling sexual development and reproductive function. *Oestrogens and *progesterone are the female sex hormones; *androgens are the male sex hormones.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

These HORMONES control the development of primary and secondary sexual characteristics. They also regulate sex-related functions – for example, menstruation and the production of sperm and eggs. The three main types of sex hormone are androgens, or male sex hormones (see ANDROGEN); OESTROGENS, or female sex hormones; and progesterones, which are involved in pregnancy (see PROGESTERONE).... Medical Dictionary

adj. describing characteristics that are expressed differently in the two sexes but are controlled by genes not on the sex chromosomes, e.g. baldness in men.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

adj. describing genes (or the characteristics controlled by them) that are carried on the sex chromosomes, usually the *X chromosome. The genes for certain disorders, such as *haemophilia, are carried on the X chromosome; these genes and disorders are described as X-linked. Since most of these sex-linked genes are *recessive, men are more likely to have the diseases since they have only one X chromosome; women can carry the genes but their harmful effects are usually masked by the dominant (normal) alleles on their second X chromosome.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

The way in which a characteristic or an illness determined by the SEX CHROMOSOMES in an individual’s cells is passed on to the succeeding generation. Men have one X and one Y sex chromosome and women have two X chromosomes. Disorders that result from an abnormal number of sex chromosomes include KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME, which affects only men, and TURNER’S SYNDROME, which affects mainly women. Recessive GENES on the X chromosome cause most other sex-linked characteristics; in women these may well be masked because one of their two X chromosomes carries a normal (dominant) gene. In men, who have just one X chromosome, no such masking occurs – so more men than women are affected by X-linked characteristics or diseases. (See also HEREDITY.)... Medical Dictionary

The ratio of one sex to another. Usually defined as the ratio of males to females.... Community Health

(SRY) see Y chromosome.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

The counselling and treatment of individuals with psychosexual dysfunction (see SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION). Around half of couples experience some type of sexual problem during their relationships, and for most of them the diffculties are psychological. Sexual therapy is usually given to both partners, but sometimes individual counselling is necessary. Couples may sometimes ?nd that group therapy is helpful. Therapy has proved e?ective especially for women with VAGINISMUS (spasm of vaginal muscles), men with PREMATURE EJACULATION or IMPOTENCE, and men and women who fail to achieve ORGASM.... Medical Dictionary

n. the age when a person first engages in sexual intercourse.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

n. the study of sexual matters, including anatomy, physiology, behaviour, and techniques.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

See CHILD ABUSE.... Medical Dictionary

Physical features appearing at puberty that indicate the onset of adult reproductive life.

In girls, breast enlargement is the first sign.

Shortly afterwards, pubic and underarm hair appears, and body fat increases around the hips, stomach, and thighs to produce the female body shape.

In boys, the first sign is enlargement of the testes, followed by thinning of the scrotal skin and enlargement of the penis.

Pubic, facial, axillary, and other body hair appears, the voice deepens, and muscle bulk and bone size increase.... BMA Medical Dictionary

Lack of sexual desire or of the ability to become physically aroused during sexual activity.... BMA Medical Dictionary

Any type of pleasurable sexual practice which society regards as abnormal. Deviation may be related to the activity, such as EXHIBITIONISM or sadomasochistic sex (see SADISM; MASOCHISM); or to the sexual object, for example, shoes or clothes (fetishism). Di?erent cultures have di?erent values, and treatment is probably not required unless the deviation is antisocial or harmful to the participant(s). Aversion therapy, or the conditioning of a person’s behaviour, may help if treatment is considered necessary.... Medical Dictionary

Inadequate sexual response may be due to a lack of sexual desire (LIBIDO) or to an inadequate performance; or it may be that there is a lack of satisfaction or ORGASM. Lack of sexual desire may be due to any generalised illness or endocrine disorder, or to the taking of drugs that antagonise endocrine function (see ENDOCRINE GLANDS). Disorders of performance in men can occur during arousal, penetration and EJACULATION. In the female, DYSPAREUNIA and VAGINISMUS are the main disorders of performance. DIABETES MELLITUS can cause a neuropathy which results in loss of erection. IMPOTENCE can follow nerve damage from operations on the PROSTATE GLAND and lower bowel, and can be the result of neurological diseases affecting the autonomic system (see NERVOUS SYSTEM). Disorders of satisfaction include, in men, impotence, emission without forceful ejaculation and pleasureless ejaculation. In women such disorders range from the absence of the congestive genital response to absence of orgasm. Erectile dysfunction in men can sometimes be treated with SILDENAFIL CITRATE (Viagra®), a drug that recent research suggests may also be helpful to women with reduced libido and/or inability to achieve orgasm.

Sexual dysfunction may be due to physical or psychiatric disease, or it may be the result of the administration of drugs. The main group of drugs likely to cause sexual problems are the ANTICONVULSANTS, the ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS, and drugs such as metoclopramide that induce HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA. The benzodiazepine TRANQUILLISERS can reduce libido and cause failure of erection. Tricyclic ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS may cause failure of erection and clomipramine may delay or abolish ejaculation by blockade of alpha-adrenergic receptors. The MONOAMINE OXIDASE INHIBITORS (MAOIS) often inhibit ejaculation. The PHENOTHIAZINES reduce sexual desire and arousal and may cause di?culty in maintaining an erection. The antihypertensive drug, methyldopa, causes impotence in over 20 per cent of patients on large doses. The beta-adrenoceptorblockers and the DIURETICS can also cause impotence. The main psychiatric causes of sexual dysfunction include stress, depression and guilt.... Medical Dictionary

A term sometimes used to describe a variety of sexual activities, but which specifically refers to the insertion of the penis into the vagina.... BMA Medical Dictionary

Any difficulty associated with sexual performance or behaviour. Sexual problems are often psychological in origin (see psychosexual dysfunction). Sex therapy may help such problems. Some sexual problems are due to physical disease, such as a disorder affecting blood flow or a hormonal dysfunction. A disorder of the genitals may result in pain during intercourse (see intercourse, painful). Such problems are addressed by treating the cause, where possible.... BMA Medical Dictionary

A term describing the capacity for sexual feelings and behaviour, or an individual’s sexual orientation or preference. Heterosexuality is sexuality directed towards the anatomically opposite sex; homosexuality is attraction to the same sex; and bisexuality is attraction to both sexes. (See also gender identity.)... BMA Medical Dictionary

(STD) any disease transmitted by sexual intercourse, formerly known as venereal disease. STDs include *AIDS, *syphilis, *gonorrhoea, some *Chlamydia infections, genital *herpes, and *soft sore. The medical specialty concerned with STDs is genitourinary medicine.... Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary

Sexually transmitted diseases – traditionally called venereal diseases – are infections transmitted by sexual intercourse (heterosexual and homosexual). In the United Kingdom they are treated in genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics. The incidences of these diseases are more common among people who have several sexual partners, as STDs are very infectious; some of the major STDs, particularly AIDS/HIV, are also transmitted by blood and so can result from needle-sharing by drug addicts, or by TRANSFUSION. The ‘traditional’ STDs – SYPHILIS, GONORRHOEA and CHANCROID – now comprise only 10 per cent of all such diseases treated in STD clinics: these clinics also treat patients with CHLAMYDIA, TRICHOMONIASIS, HERPES GENITALIS, MOLLUSCUM CONTAGIOSUM and genital WARTS. SCABIES and pubic lice (see PEDICULOSIS – Pediculus pubis) can also be transmitted by sexual intercourse, and HEPATITIS B is also recognised as an STD.

The incidence of STDs rose sharply during World War II but the advent of PENICILLIN and subsequent antibiotics meant that syphilis and gonorrhoea could be treated e?ectively. The arrival of oral contraception and more tolerant public attitudes to sexual activities resulted in an increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections. The diagnosis of NONSPECIFIC URETHRITIS (NSU), once given to many patients whose symptoms were not due to the traditional recognised infections, was in the 1970s realised to be wrong, as the condition was proved to be the result of infection by chlamydia.

Most STDs are treatable, but herpes is an infection that could become chronic, while hepatitis B and, of course, AIDS/HIV are potentially fatal – although treatment of HIV is now proving more e?ective. As well as the treatment and subsequent monitoring of patients with STDs, one of the important functions of clinics has been the tracing, treatment and follow-up of sexual contacts of infected individuals, a procedure that is conducted con?dentially.

Apart from AIDS/HIV, the incidence of STDs fell during the 1980s; however in some countries the agents causing syphilis and gonorrhoea began to develop resistance to antibiotics, which showed the continued importance of practising safe sex – in particular by restricting the number of sexual partners and ensuring the regular use of condoms. In the United Kingdom the rates per million of the male population infected by syphilis rose from 8.8 in 1991 to 9.7 in 1999; in females the ?gures were 4.0 to 4.5, respectively. For gonorrhoea, the ?gures for men were 399.4 in 1991 and 385 in 1999, with women also showing a reduction, from

216.5 to 171.3. In 1991, 552.6 per million of men had chlamydia, a ?gure which rose to

829.5 in 1999; for women in the same period the incidence also rose, from 622.5 to 1,077.1 per million. For genital herpes simplex virus, the infection rate for men fell from 236.6 per million to 227.7, whereas the ?gures for women showed a rise, 258.5 to 357. The incidence of AIDS/HIV is given under the relevant entry. (These ?gures are based on information in United Kingdom Health Statistics, 2001 edition, UKHSI, published by the O?ce of National Statistics.)... Medical Dictionary

(STIs) Infections transmitted primarily, but not exclusively, by sexual intercourse. Common STIs include chlamydial infections, genital herpes, pubic lice, genital warts, trichomoniasis, syphilis, gonorrhoea, and HIV infection. Antibiotics can be used to treat most bacterial STIs. Confidential tracing and treatment of an affected person’s partners is an essential part of the management of STIs (see contact tracing).

Practising safer sex can help prevent STIs.... BMA Medical Dictionary

The psycho-sexual condition characterised by feelings of belonging to the gender opposite to that of the genitalia and the secondary sex characteristics. Subjects may be helped by counselling, drug therapy and in some circumstances an operation to change their physical sexual characteristics. Trans-sexuals or their families wanting help and guidance should contact the Gender Identity Consultancy.... Medical Dictionary