Embryogenesis of chordee.

Gross and microscopic examination of 46 consecutive male therapeutic abortion specimens, ranging in size from 60 to 180 mm. crown-rump, demonstrated that 89 per cent of the fetuses had some ventral curvature of the penis. Athough presumably all penises are ventrally curved through the tenth week of gestation, in our study this curvature was most prominent in the sixteenth through twentieth weeks of gestation and in 44 per cent of the fetuses it persisted through the sixth lunar month. Examination of premature infants revealed a 31 per cent incidence of chordee and serial examinations of a 27-week gestational age infant demonstrated gradual complete correction of the chordee during the ensuing 6 weeks. We propose that ventral curvature of the penis is a normal stage of embryogenesis and chordee without hypospadias may represent an arrest of development at this earlier stage.