Sex liability to single structural defects
J. Fernando, P. Arena and D. W. Smith
Forty-two of 52 single, localized defects of morphogenesis showed a
nonrandom predeliction to one sex. For some of these malformations, the sex
liability may be explained on the basis of normal anatomic or hormonal
differences between the sexes. For example, the male excess of "prune
belly" or triad syndrome is considered due to the fact that most cases are
secondary to obstruction in the penile urethra, and the male excess of
pyloric stenosis is hypothesized as being secondary to the muscle
hypertrophying effect of testosterone in the male neonate. The sex
differences for most of the defects suggest that genes on the X and/or Y
chromosome exert a role in morphogenesis that extends well beyond the
development of sex-related structures.
