Genital tubercle
Template:Short description Template:Infobox embryology A genital tubercle, phallic tubercle, or clitorophallic structure<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is a body of tissue present in the development of the reproductive system of amniotes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It forms in the ventral, caudal region of mammalian embryos of both sexes, and eventually develops into a primordial phallus. In the human fetus, the genital tubercle develops around week four of gestation, and by week nine, becomes recognizably either a clitoris or penis. This should not be confused with the sinus tubercle which is a proliferation of endoderm induced by paramesonephric ducts. Even after the phallus is developed (either a penile shaft or clitoral shaft),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the term genital tubercle remains, but only as the terminal end of it,<ref name="e024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which develops into either the glans penis or the glans clitoridis.
In the development of the male fetus, the two sides of the tubercle approach ventrally forming a hollow tube that encloses the male urethra. The two glans wings merge in the midline forming the septum glandis.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In the female fetus, the tubercle is attached to the vestibular folds that remain unfused forming the labia minora and the vaginal vestibule in between.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.
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