Enlarged clitoris and hermaphroditism in two one-year-old dogs

Abstract

A Pit-bull and a Beagle, both one-year-old, with complaints of an enlarged clitoris were clinically suspected for hermaphroditism. The enlarged clitoris, the uteri and the gonads were removed surgically from each animal and submitted to our department for histopathological evaluation. Tissue samples were fixed with 10% buffered formalin solution and processed routinely, after which paraffin sections were obtained and stained with H&E. A blood sample was taken from the Beagle dog and a peripheral lymphocyte culture was prepared. While the clitoris and uteri were confirmed histopathologically, the gonads were detected as a testis instead of an ovary for both dogs. Additionally, cytogenetic evaluation revealed a normal female chromosome complement, 78, XX for the Beagle dog. According to the gonadal and phenotypic sexes, both cases were first determined as 'male pseudohermaphroditism', a phenotypic sex disorder. However, after karyotyping analysis, we concluded that the 78, XX Beagle dog should be defined as suffering from XX sex reversal syndrome, a gonadal sex disorder.