Breast development extension adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)), and thyroid hormones such as thyroxine (and by extension thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)) also play permissive but less well-understood/poorly-characterized roles in breast development during both puberty and pregnancy, and are required for full functional development. Leptin has also been found to be an important factor in mammary gland development, and has been found to promote mammary epithelial cell proliferation. In contrast to the female-associated sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, the male-associated sex hormones, the androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), powerfully suppress the action of estrogen in the breasts. At least one
Male reproductive system male reproductive system is the process whereby the reproductive organs grow, mature and are established. It begins with a single fertilized egg and culminates 38 weeks later with birth of a male child. It is a part of the stages of sexual differentiation. The development of the male reproductive system coincides with the urinary system. The development of them can also be described together as the development of the urinary and reproductive organs. Sexual identity is determined at fertilization when the genetic sex of the zygote has been initialized by a sperm cell containing either an X or Y chromosome.