Prepubescent penis wikimedia

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes and accelerated sexual development by which a child 's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Pubescence is the process of first reaching puberty and a pubescent is one in the early stages of the process. Adolescence is the period of psychological and social transition between childhood and adulthood. Adolescence largely overlaps the period of puberty but its boundaries are less precisely defined and it refers as much to the psychosocial and cultural characteristics of development during the teen years as to the physical changes of puberty. Growth accelerates in the first half of puberty and reaches completion by the end. Body differences between boys and girls before puberty are almost entirely restricted to the genitalia , major differences of size, shape, composition, and function develop in many body structures and systems.

Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child 's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads : the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. In response to the signals, the gonads produce hormones that stimulate libido and the growth, function, and transformation of the brain, bones , muscle , blood , skin , hair , breasts , and sex organs. Physical growth —height and weight—accelerates in the first half of puberty and is completed when an adult body has been developed. Before puberty, the external sex organs, known as primary sexual characteristics , are sex characteristics that distinguish boys and girls. Puberty leads to sexual dimorphism through the development of the secondary sex characteristics , which further distinguish the sexes. On average, girls begin puberty at ages 10—11 and complete puberty at ages 15—17; boys generally begin puberty at ages 11—12 and complete puberty at ages 16—

In simple terms, reproduction is the process by which organisms create descendants. This miracle is a characteristic that all living things have in common and sets them apart from nonliving things. But even though the reproductive system is essential to keeping a species alive, it is not essential to keeping an individual alive. In human reproduction, two kinds of sex cells or gametes are involved. Sperm, the male gamete, and a secondary oocyte along with first polar body and corona radiata , the male gamete must meet in the female reproductive system to create a new individual.

Over the past century, numerous boys born in Canada and the United States have been circumcised. Premature retraction of the foreskin can lead to tearing of healthy tissue, which is painful and increases the risk of preputial scarring and infection. The foreskin should first be gently manipulated to determine if the meatus can be easily visualized. Pressure used for this should be gentle to avoid tearing of tissues, similar to the amount of pressure that would be used when spreading the labia to visualize the meatus of a girl.