Abstract
Testicular development is not a smooth, continuous process. Instead, it is a series of five abrupt, distinct steps of rapid transformation separated by periods of relative inactivity. Each step is triggered by a rapid rise in production of gonadotropins and androgens, which triggers a new step in maturation of germ cells, Leydig cells, and Sertoli cells. The first step begins at the end of the 6th week postfertilization; the second, during the 14th postmenstrual week; the third, during the 2nd postnatal month; the fourth, during the 5th postnatal year; and the fifth, during the 9th postnatal year. Some of these steps produce dramatic changes in testicular histology; others produce only subtle changes in the cytology of germ cells, Leydig cells, and Sertoli cells. This chapter describes the details of these five steps in testicular differentiation.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Catherine T.-S. Chung from The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, for invaluable assistance in selecting microscopic slides for photography, taking photomicrographs, and editing the original manuscript.
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Huff, D.S., Carreon, C.K. (2019). Testis. In: Ernst, L., Ruchelli, E., Carreon, C., Huff, D. (eds) Color Atlas of Human Fetal and Neonatal Histology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11425-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11425-1_10
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