Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Genital tubercle
Introduction
Overview
Overview
A genital tubercle is a body of tissue present in the development of the urinary and reproductive organs. It forms in the ventral, caudal region of mammalian embryos of both sexes, and eventually develops into a phallus. In the human fetus the genital tubercle develops around week 4 of gestation, and by week 9 becomes recognizably either a clitoris or penis.
Even after the phallus is developed, the term genital tubercle remains, but only as the terminal end of it[1], which develops into either the glans penis or the glans clitoridis.
The genital tubercle is sensitive to dihydrotestosterone and rich in 5-alpha-reductase, so that the amount of fetal testosterone present after the second month is a major determinant of phallus size at birth.