Lecture 26 - Puberty

Question 1

What is puberty?
What are these changes resulted from?

(important)

Answer 1

When secondary sex characteristics appear and mature
adolescent growth spurt occurs
fertility is achieved
profound psychological effects are observed

Changes result directly or indirectly from (if something goes wrong with these then have problem with pituitary)

• maturation of Hypothalamic pituitary gonadotropin unit
• stimulation of sex organs
• secretion of sex steroids

Question 2

Girls and boys - normal puberty

Answer 2

girls - breast development then growth spurt (due to oestrogen)

Boys - increased testicular enlargement - growth spurt later

Question 3

Childhood to puberty transition

Answer 3

GOnadostat is turned off

• increase pulsitile gnrh and lh/fsh secretion
• increase sex steroid production (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone)
• reduce sensitivity to negative feedback from sex steroids

Question 4

Leptin and puberty

Answer 4

Increase fat mass, then increase leptin and this can fasten the onset of puberty

can have a deficiency in this and will not go thru puberty

Question 5

What goes before what in males and females for puberty -LEARN BEFORE

-first signs of puberty

Answer 5

Girls - breast budding, height development then pubic hair development, then menarche

Boys - testicular size increases, pubic hair changes, then growth spurt quite late

Question 6

Mid parental height

Answer 6

Target height - will be dependent on how tall your mother and father are
-work out how tall dad is and then how tall mum is then add 13 then divide by 2

Question 7

Short stature

Answer 7

Not a disease, is a symptom

• may indicate variant of normal growth or indicate pathology
• short stature still grows with normal Height velocity
• look to see if delyaed piberty
• look at other siblings child development