Environmental Development of the External Genitalia

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Ciro Maurizio (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: Hypospadias is one of the most common birth defects in the world. The incidence of hypospadias has nearly doubled over the past 50 years and now occurs on average in 1 in 125 male newborns each year. Hypospadias is a malformation of the penis where the urethra does not exit at the distal tip , but rather ventrally along the shaft of the penis. The severity of hypospadias depends on the amount of preputial swelling closure , the urethral exit , and the overall shape of the penis. The presence of anti-androgenic and estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment is strongly linked with hypospadias incidence and severity. Still very little is known about the basic biology of penis development , how EDCs perturb normal development , and in-turn there are no known prenatal preventative treatments to protect the developing fetus from EDC exposure and abnormal penis development. In this dissertation I first review the basic biology of penis development. Then using geometric morphometrics I investigate the impact of the anti-androgen , vinclozolin , on morphological changes in the external genitalia. Based on where EDCs impacted penis development the most I then developed a quantitative scoring system to efficiently analyze variation in penis development. The scoring system then was implemented to investigate the temporal and endocrinological drivers of hypospadias severity. Lastly , I used the basic biological information gained to investigate a potential prenatal preventative to protect the developing fetus from EDCs.

Additional Information

Publication

Dissertation

Language: English

Date: 2018

Keywords

Endocrine Disruption, Hormone

Subjects

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