Klinefelter's syndrome
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- (Kline'-fell-terz sin'-drom) a congential (present at birth) condition that affects 1 out of every 850 men. Normally men and women have 46 chromosomes including two sex chromosomes. The female sex chromosome is called X and the male sex chromosome is called Y. Women normally have 2 X chromosomes and men have one X and one Y chromosome. sometimes there is a problem with the parent's egg or sperm cells and they may carry an extra sex chromosome which is passed to the embryo. If a male child has 2 or more X chromosomes, he will have certain physical changes and certain medical problems that are called Klinefelter's syndrome. The changes include longer legs, a higher voice, thinner beard, and smaller than normal testicles that do not produce functioning sperm cells and so the man is not able to father children (infertile). These men have less androgen (male hormone) and more estrogen (female hormone) and so they are more likely to develop gynecomastia and increased risk of male breast cancer
DoD Breast Health Program South - Cite This Source - This Definition - Adrenal androgrens, Estrogen, HER-2/neu or Herceptin (R), monoclonal antibody, Montgomery Glands, ovarian