The 1st-century BC sculpture 'The Reclining Hermaphrodite', in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in Rome

A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs. The National Museum of Rome ( Museo Nazionale Romano in Italian is a set of museums in Rome, Italy, split between various branches across the city ^[1] In many species, hermaphroditism is a common part of the life-cycle, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which the two sexes are not separated into distinct male and female types of individual. Hermaphroditism most commonly occurs in invertebrates, although it is also found in some fish, and to a lesser degree in other vertebrates. An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Vertebrates are members of the Subphylum Vertebrata, Chordates with backbones or spinal columns The grouping sometimes includes

Historically, the term hermaphrodite has also been used to describe ambiguous genitalia and gonadal mosaicism in individuals of gonochoristic species, especially human beings. Intersexuality is the state of a living thing of a gonochoristic species whose Sex chromosomes, Genitalia, and/or Secondary sex characteristics In Medicine ( Genetics) a mosaic or mosaicism denotes the presence of two populations of cells with different Genotypes in one In Biology, gonochorism ( Greek offspring + disperse or unisexualism describes sexually reproducing species in which there are at The term comes from the name of the minor Greek god Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite (see below). In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos ( Ancient Greek:) was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and

Recently, intersex has been used and preferred by many such individuals, encouraging medical professionals to use the term. Intersexuality is the state of a living thing of a gonochoristic species whose Sex chromosomes, Genitalia, and/or Secondary sex characteristics ^[2]

Zoology

Sequential hermaphrodites

Sequential hermaphrodites (dichogamy) occurs in species in which the individual is born as one sex but can later change into the alternate sex. Dichogamy is the separation in time of gender expression in a hermaphroditic organism a characteristic of some Fishes, Gastropods, and most Flowering plants This is in contrast with simultaneous hermaphrodites, in which an individual may possess fully functional male and female gonads. Sequential hermaphroditism is common in teleost fish, especially marine reef species. While some sequential hermaphrodites can change sex multiple times, most can only change sex once.

Sequential hermaphrodites fall into two broad categories:

• Protandry: Where the organism is born as a male, and then changes sex to a female.
  • Example: The Clownfish (Genus Amphiprion) are colorful reef fish found living in symbiosis with anemones. Clownfish and anemonefish are Fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Clownfish and anemonefish are Fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. This article is about the biological phenomenon for other uses see Symbiosis (disambiguation The term symbiosis (from the Greek Anemone ( A-ne-mó-ne, from the Gr Άνεμος wind is a Genus of about 120 Species of flowering plants in the Generally one anemone contains a 'harem', consisting of a large female, a smaller reproductive male, and even smaller non-reproductive males. If the female is removed, the reproductive male will change sex and the largest of the non-reproductive males will mature and become reproductive. It has been shown that fishing pressure can change when the switch from male to female occurs, since fishermen naturally prefer to catch the larger fish. The populations are generally changing sex at a smaller size, due to artificial selection. Artificial selection is the intentional breeding for certain traits or combinations of traits over others and is synonymous with " Selective breeding "
• Protogyny: Where the organism starts as a female, and then changes sex to a male.
  • Example: Wrasses (Family Labridae) are a group of reef fish in which protogyny is common. The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine Fish, many of which are brightly colored The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine Fish, many of which are brightly colored Wrasses also have an uncommon life history strategy, which is termed diandry (literally, two males). In these species, two male morphs exists: an initial phase male or a terminal phase male. Initial phase males do not look like males and spawn in groups with other females. They are not territorial. They are perhaps, female mimics (which is why they are found swimming in group with other females). Terminal phase males are territorial, and have a distinctively bright coloration. Individuals are born as males or females but if they are born males, they are not born as Terminal Phase males. Females and initial phase males can become terminal phase males. Usually the most dominant female or initial phase male replaces any terminal phase male, when those males die or abandon the group.

Sequential hermaphrodites possess an ambisexual gonad. The gonad has both a male and a female portion. When an individual changes sex, gonad remodeling occurs. Interestingly, changes in behavior often occur before these gonad changes.

Simultaneous hermaphrodites

A simultaneous hermaphrodite (or synchronous hermaphrodite) is an adult organism that has both male and female sexual organs at the same time. Usually, self-fertilization does not occur. Reproduction is the Biological process by which new individual Organisms are produced

• Snails are perhaps the most classic of simultaneous hermaphrodite, and the most widespread of terrestrial animals possessing this sexual polymorphism. The word snail is a Common name that can be used for almost all members of the Molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the Using calcium carbonate 'arrows' as sperm carriers which are exchanged between snails by shooting them, sexual material is exchanged between both animals. In this way, snails have been poetically compared with Cupid for their sharing of shooting 'Arrows of Love'. In Roman mythology, Cupid (Latin cupido) is the god of Erotic Love and Beauty. After exchange of spermatazoa, both animals will lay fertilized eggs after a period of gestation, which then proceed to hatch after a development period. Snails typically reproduce in early spring and late autumn.

• Hamlets, unlike other fish, seem quite at ease mating in front of divers, allowing observations in the wild to occur readily. A hamlet is a Fish of the genus Hypoplectrus. It is a Grouping fish that is found mainly in Coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea They do not practice self-fertilization, but when they find a mate, the pair takes turns between which one acts as the male and which acts as the female through multiple matings, usually over the course of several nights.

• Earthworms are another example of a simultaneous hermaphrodite. Earthworm is the usual name for the largest members of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author in the phylum Annelida In classical Although they possess ovaries and testes, they have a protective mechanism against self fertilization and can only function as a single sex at one time. Sexual reproduction occurs when two worms meet and exchange gametes, copulating on damp nights during warm seasons. A gamete (from Ancient Greek γαμέτης; translated gamete = wife gametes = husband is a cell that fuses with another gamete Fertilized eggs are protected by a cocoon, which is buried on or near the surface of the ground.

• Banana Slugs are one more simultaneous hermaphrodite example. Banana slugs are any Species of the pulmonate Gastropod Genus Ariolimax, (literally " Arion 's slug" Mating with a partner is most desirable, as the genetic material of the offspring is varied, but if mating with a partner is not possible, self-fertilization is practised. The male sexual organ of an adult banana slug is quite large in proportion to its size, as well as compared to the female organ. It is possible for banana slugs, while mating, to become stuck together. If a substantial amount of wiggling fails to separate them, the male's organ will be bitten off (with the slug's radula). The radula is a toothed Chitinous ribbon typically used for scraping cutting and chewing food before it enters the Esophagus. If a banana slug has lost its male sexual organ, it can still self-fertilize, making its hermaphroditic quality an invaluable adaptation.

Other

Hyenas have a clitoris that is greatly enlarged, so much so, that they were described as hermaphrodites -- not only by the ancient Greeks, but as recently as the twentieth century among circus animal handlers -- until scientific information was provided that clarified the misunderstanding. The Hyaenidae is a Mammalian family of order Carnivora. The Hyaenidae family native to both African and Asian continents consists of four The clitoris is a sexual organ that is present only in Female Mammals In humans the visible button-like portion is located near the Anterior

Botany

Main article: Plant sexuality

Hermaphrodite is used in botany to describe a flower that has both staminate (male, pollen-producing) and carpellate (female, ovule-producing) parts. Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of Sexual reproduction systems found across the Plant kingdom Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also The stamen ( Plural stamina or stamens, from Latin stamen meaning "thread of the warp " is the male A gynoecium (from Ancient Greek gyne, "woman" is the Female reproductive part of a Flower. This condition is seen in many common garden plants. A closer analogy to hermaphrodism in animals is the presence of separate male and female flowers on the same individual—such plants are called monoecious. Monoecy is especially common in conifers, but occurs in only about 7% of angiosperm species (Molnar, 2004).

XVIII Century Woodcut Engraving, by K. Lufloss, depicting the famous sculpture, 'The Reclining Hermaphrodite" (From Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon)

Other uses of the term

Main article: Intersexuality

Hermaphrodite was used to describe any person incompatible with the biological gender binary, but has recently been replaced by intersexual in medicine. Intersexuality is the state of a living thing of a gonochoristic species whose Sex chromosomes, Genitalia, and/or Secondary sex characteristics The gender binary is the idea that human gender exists in two forms masculine and feminine Intersexuality is the state of a living thing of a gonochoristic species whose Sex chromosomes, Genitalia, and/or Secondary sex characteristics Humans with typical reproductive organs but atypical clitoris/penis are called pseudohermaphrodites in medical literature. See also Intersexuality Pseudohermaphroditism or pseudo-hermaphroditism, is a name used to describe people born with Secondary sex characteristics

Whether hermaphroditism is a disorder or merely an unusual condition is a matter of opinion. In most societies, the common assumption is that all people are, or at least should be, either male or female. This assumption can make life difficult for hermaphrodites.

People with intersex conditions sometimes choose to live exclusively as one sex or the other, using clothing, social cues, genital surgery, and hormone replacement therapy to blend into the sex they identify with more closely. Intersexuality is the state of a living thing of a gonochoristic species whose Sex chromosomes, Genitalia, and/or Secondary sex characteristics Some people who are intersexed, such as some of those with Klinefelter's syndrome and androgen insensitivity syndrome, outwardly appear completely female or male already, without realizing they are intersexed. Klinefelter's syndrome, 47XXY or XXY syndrome is a condition caused by a Chromosome Aneuploidy. Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS also referred to as androgen resistance syndrome, is a set of disorders of Sexual differentiation caused by Mutations Other kinds of intersex conditions are identified immediately at birth because those with the condition have a sexual organ larger than a clitoris and smaller than a penis. Intersexuality is thought by some to be caused by unusual sex hormones; the unusual hormones may be caused by an atypical set of sex chromosomes.

Sigmund Freud (based on work by his associate Wilhelm Fliess) held fetal hermaphroditism to be a fact of the physiological development of humans. Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded Wilhelm Fliess ( 24 October 1858 &ndash 13 October 1928) was a German Otolaryngologist who practised in Berlin He was so certain of this, in fact, that he based much of his theory of innate sexuality on that assumption. Similarly, in contemporary times, fetuses before sexual differentiation are sometimes described as female by doctors explaining the process. See Sex differences in humans for permanent sex differences Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the differences between ^[3] Neither concept is technically true. Before this stage, humans are simply undifferentiated and possess a Müllerian duct, a Wolffian duct, and a genital tubercle. The Müllerian ducts (or paramesonephric ducts) are paired ducts of the Embryo which run down the lateral sides of the Urogenital ridge and terminate at A genital tubercle is a body of tissue present in the Development of the urinary and reproductive organs.

Etymology

The term "hermaphrodite" derives from Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite in Greek mythology, who was fused with a nymph, Salmacis, resulting in one individual possessing physical traits of both genders. In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos ( Ancient Greek:) was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form In Greek mythology, Salmacis was an atypical Naiad who rejected the ways of the virginal Greek Goddess Artemis in favor of Thus Hermaphroditus could be called, using modern terminology, a simultaneous hermaphrodite. The mythological figure of Tiresias, who figures in the Oedipus cycle as well as the Odyssey, could be called a sequential hermaphrodite, having been changed from a man to a woman and back by the gods. Everes redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Everes (genus. Oedipus the King ( Ancient Greek: tyrannos Modern Greek: ( "Oedipus the Tyrant" also known as Oedipus Rex, is a The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer.

See also

• Gynandromorph
• Gonochorism, an alternative reproduction system in which the sexes are distinct, determined genetically and do not change during an individual's lifetime
• Intersex
• Morphodite
• Supernumerary body part
• Zwitter a Rammstein song which translates to hermaphrodite

Notes

References

1. Randall, John E. ,(2005) Reef and Shore Fishes of the South Pacific, Univ. of Hawaii Press, p346 and 387. ISBN 0-8248-2698-1
2. SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database, "Fish Reproduction"
3. Kyu-Rae Kim M. D. , et al. True Hermaphroditism and Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis in Young Children: A Clinicopathologic Study of 10 Cases, Modern Pathology, 2002;15(10):1013
4. Discovery Health Channel, (2007) "I Am My Own Twin"

External Links

An article on Lynn Edward Harris (a clinically-diagnosed born intersexed person, and presumed precedent-setting case of rectification of civil status without surgical alteration.)

Further reading

• Anne Fausto-Sterling, "How Many Sexes Are There?" from The New York Times, Op-Ed page, March 12, 1993, reprinted in Sterling Harwood, ed. , Business as Ethical and Business as Usual (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co. , 1996), pages 168-170.
• M. M. Grumbach, and F. A. Conte. 1998. "Disorders of sex differentiation. " in Williams Textbook of Endocrinology, eds. J. D. Wilson, D. W. Foster, H. M. Kronenberg, and P. R. Larsen, (Philadelphia: W B Saunders:1303-1425).
• Molnar, Sebastian. 2004. Plant Reproductive Systems, internet version posted February 17, 2004.
• Kyu-Rae Kim M. D. , et al. True Hermaphroditism and Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis in Young Children: A Clinicopathologic Study of 10 Cases, Modern Pathology, 2002;15(10):1013–1019
• Chase, Cheryl. (1998). "Affronting Reason" in Looking Queer: Body Image and Identity as Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Communities, edited by David Atkins, pages 205-219. (Publishing 1998 Haworth Press).