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Hirsutism

  • Chapter
Hair and Hair Diseases

Abstract

Hirsutism must be regarded as an androgen-mediated symptom. In men virilization is a normal occurrence at puberty and is closely related to an increase in testicular function, but in women virilization is an unnatural phenomenon. The clinical spectrum of virilization includes acne, seborrhea oleosa, hirsutism, androgenetic alopecia, and more severe manifestations such as deepening of the voice, clitorimegaly, and pectoral muscle hypertrophy. The clinical picture of hirsutism may range from mild beard growth to increased coarse body hair of the male type, with or without menstrual disorders. The pathogenesis of hirsutism is apparently linked to androgenic hormones. The physiological role of androgens, namely testosterone, is well defined in men: testosterone is involved in genital development, the process of sperm maturation, the regulation of gonadotropin secretion by the pituitary, the growth of sexual hair, and the regulation of sexuality; moreover, it represents a most potent anabolic hormone.

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Authors
  1. M. Breckwoldt
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  2. H. P. Zahradnik
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  3. P. Wieacker
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center Steglitz, The Free University of Berlin, Berlin, FR Germany

    Constantin E. Orfanos

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Nijmegen, NL-6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Rudolf Happle

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Breckwoldt, M., Zahradnik, H.P., Wieacker, P. (1990). Hirsutism. In: Orfanos, C.E., Happle, R. (eds) Hair and Hair Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74612-3_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74612-3_33

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-74614-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-74612-3

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