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Updated: Oct 25, 2025
Determination of Reproductive Competence by Confirming Pubertal Onset and Performing a Fertility Assay in Mice and Rats
Published on: October 13, 2018
Interpretation of reproductive hormones before, during and after the pubertal transition-Identifying health and
1Centre for Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Abstract:
Puberty is a process of transition from childhood to adult reproductive capacity, governed by the reactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis after a long period of dormancy in mid-childhood. As such, the reproductive hormones are in a state of flux during the adolescent years, and interpretation of both the onset of healthy, concordant puberty and the differentiation of precocious, delayed or disordered puberty, can be challenging. This review is focused on the description of the endocrine axes in healthy puberty and the markers of disorders of puberty that can aid diagnosis and management for patients with these conditions. It will cover the hypothalamic, pituitary and gonadal hormone systems, the dynamic changes that occur during puberty, conditions leading to precocious, delayed or absent puberty and other syndromes with disordered puberty, and the biochemical diagnosis of these different disorders of puberty.
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