Xiaoli is a 23 years old female swimmer. She tested negative for the Barr body test and positive for the SRY gene. Her blood testosterone level was 25 nmol/L. However, she has a typical external female reproductive anatomy and secondary sex characteristics.  The genetic variation that best characterizes Xiaoli is  blank .  Dora is a 27 years old female shotputter. She tested negative for the Barr body test and SRY gene. Her blood testosterone level was tested below 10 nmol/L. Although she has a typical external female reproductive anatomy, she does not exhibit any secondary sex characteristics. The genetic variation that best characterizes Dora is  blank .

Comprehensive Medical Terminology
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ISBN:9781133478850
Author:Jones
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Chapter17: The Female Reproductive System
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Sex Verification of Athletes
 


Dutee Chand, Indian track and field athlete. 

Caster Semenya, South African track and field athlete.

Sex determination is a very complex process and occurs during embryonic development. You can read more about it here in Lesson 4. Make sure you have completed the Sex Verification of Athletes activity. 

Many athletes throughout the history of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) have failed to pass the sex verification tests. This test was designed to ensure that only biologically female athletes can compete in women's sports. Currently, there are two athletes, Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya, who are fighting for the right to compete in the women's sports without taking medications to suppress their naturally high testosterone levels

Here is an example that demonstrates how difficult it is to determine whether an individual is biologically male or female. 

In the 1960s, IAAF used to release the results from sex verification tests. One of the track and field athletes, Ewa Klobukowska, won a gold and bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics but failed the sex verification test. It was revealed that although Ewa has external female reproductive anatomy, some of her cells expressed XX chromosomes, while other cells expressed XXY chromosomes. Although all of her cells would have shown the presence of a Barr body (meaning that there are two X chromosomes in each cell), she would have tested positive for the presence of SRY gene as well. With the expression of the SRY gene, Ewa's body would have naturally produced higher than normal levels of testosterone. In 1967, the IAAF ruled to erase the three world records set by Ewa. One year later, Ewa successfully gave birth to a baby boy

Read the following two case studies and identify which of the genetic variations best characterizes the athlete's biological sex. Drag and drop your answers into the corresponding boxes below.

    1. Xiaoli is a 23 years old female swimmer. She tested negative for the Barr body test and positive for the SRY gene. Her blood testosterone level was 25 nmol/L. However, she has a typical external female reproductive anatomy and secondary sex characteristics. 

      The genetic variation that best characterizes Xiaoli is  blank . 

  1. Dora is a 27 years old female shotputter. She tested negative for the Barr body test and SRY gene. Her blood testosterone level was tested below 10 nmol/L. Although she has a typical external female reproductive anatomy, she does not exhibit any secondary sex characteristics.

    The genetic variation that best characterizes Dora is  blank .
     
46, XX with SRY gene 46,
 XX with excess testosterone from adrenal glands46, 
XY with deleted SRY gene45, 
X (only one X chromosome present)46, 
XY with SRD5A2 gene mutation46, 
XY with androgen insensitivity
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