Ideas in this flowchart

• Fetal sexual tissues differentiate into male or female structures according to genetic configuration.
• The X or Y chromosome determines how the basic fetal tissues differentiate.
• XY male configuration
• Male external structures develop from the glans, urethral fold, urethral groove, and lateral buttress.
• The glans becomes the penis, and the urethral fold forms the urethral meatus.
• The urethral groove and lateral buttress fuse into the penile shaft, with the urethra connecting the bladder to the meatus.
• The prostate, Cowper’s glands, seminal vesicles, and testicles develop through another process; the testicles descend from the abdomen into the scrotum.
• XX female configuration
• The glans becomes the clitoral glans, the urethral fold becomes the urethral meatus, and the urethral groove and lateral buttress become the labia minora and majora.
• The vagina, cervix, ovaries, and uterus form from other tissues; the ovaries develop inside the abdomen.
• In both configurations, the anal tubercle forms the anus and external sphincter.
• In adult sexual partners, these structures function in very similar ways despite differences in placement and structure.