Anatomical and Cytological Sex of a Saanen Goat

Abstract

A Saanen goat registered as female was found to have a pair of abdominal testes, a well developed uterus and a prominent clitoris. The chromosome features of peripheral leukocytes and the nuclear sex chromatin pattern of lymphocytes and testicular cells conformed to those of a cytological female. The testicular tissue showed all stages of meiosis and fully formed sperm indicating normal spermatogenesis. The anatomical and cytological features of this goat are compared with those of human intersexes and hermaphrodites previously reported and the disparity between the gonadal and cytological sex in this goat is discussed.