Aphallia is a congenital

Congenital disorder

A congenital disorder, or congenital disease, is a condition existing at birth and often before birth, or that develops during the first month of life , regardless of causation...

 malformity in which the phallus

Phallus (embryology)

In embryology, the primordial phallus refers to the clitoris of a female or the penis in the male, particularly during fetal development of the urinary and reproductive organs, before sexual differentiation is evident. This is also the case for the immature male analog, the immature glans penis....

 (penis

Penis

The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...

 or clitoris

Clitoris

The clitoris is a sexual organ that is present only in female mammals. In humans, the visible button-like portion is located near the anterior junction of the labia minora, above the opening of the urethra and vagina. Unlike the penis, which is homologous to the clitoris, the clitoris does not...

) is absent. The word is derived from the Greek "a" for negative or no, and "phallia" for penis.

Incidence/prevalence

It is a rare condition, with only approximately 60 cases reported as of 1989, and 75 cases as of 2005.

Causes

Aphallia is a rare birth defect of unknown cause. It is not linked to deficient hormone

Hormone

A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...

 amounts or action, but rather to a failure of the fetal genital tubercle

Genital tubercle

A phallic tubercle or genital tubercle is a body of tissue present in the development of the urinary and reproductive organs. It forms in the ventral, caudal region of mammalian embryos of both sexes, and eventually develops into a phallus...

 to form between 3 and 6 weeks after conception. The urethra

Urethra

In anatomy, the urethra is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the genitals for the removal of fluids out of the body. In males, the urethra travels through the penis, and carries semen as well as urine...

 of an affected child opens on the perineum

Perineum

In human anatomy, the perineum is a region of the body including the perineal body and surrounding structures...

.

Prognosis and treatment

Although aphallia can occur in both males and females, it is considered a substantially more troublesome problem in a male, and has in the past sometimes been considered justification for assigning

Sex assignment

Sex assignment refers to the assigning of the biological sex at the birth of a baby. In the majority of births, a relative, midwife, or physician inspects the genitalia when the baby is delivered, sees ordinary male or female genitalia, and declares, "it's a girl" or "it's a boy" without the...

 and rearing a genetically

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 male infant as a girl.

Recent advances in surgical phalloplasty

Phalloplasty

Phalloplasty refers to the construction of a penis or, sometimes, artificial modification of the penis by surgery, often for cosmetic purposes. It is also occasionally used to refer to penis enlargement....

techniques have provided additional options.