page_title: List of related male and female reproductive organs
section_title: External organs
hierarchical_section_title: List of related male and female reproductive organs / External organs
caption_attribution_description: Stages in the development of the external sexual organs in the male and female. (Drawn from the Ecker-Ziegler models.)
context_page_description: This list of related male and female reproductive organs shows how the male and female reproductive organs and the development of the reproductive system are related, sharing a common developmental path. This makes them biological homologues. These organs differentiate into the respective sex organs in males and females.
context_section_description: The external genitalia of both males and females have similar origins. They arise from the genital tubercle that forms anterior to the cloacal folds (proliferating mesenchymal cells around the cloacal membrane). The caudal aspect of the cloacal folds further subdivides into the posterior anal folds and the anterior urethral folds. Bilateral to the urethral fold, genital swellings (tubercles) become prominent. These structures are the future scrotal swellings and labia majora in males and females, respectively.
  The genital tubercles of an eight week old embryo of either sex are identical. They both have a glans area, which will go on to form the glans clitoridis (females) or glans penis (males), a urogenital fold and groove, and an anal tubercle. At around ten weeks, the external genitalia are still similar. At the base of the glans, there is a groove known as the coronal sulcus or corona glandis. It is the site of attachment of the future prepuce. Just anterior to the anal tubercle, the caudal end of the left and right urethral folds fuse to form the urethral raphe. The lateral part of the genital tubercle (called the lateral tubercle) grows longitudinally and is about the same length in either sex.
caption: Stages in the development of the external sexual organs in the male and female: A: UndifferentiatedB: FemaleC: MaleD: FemaleE: MaleF: Female
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