Pubescence refers to male puberty. The boy reaches sexual maturity and then enters puberty, during which secondary male physical characteristics develop and the psyche evolves to the adult stage.
What is puberty?
Pubescence refers to the onset of puberty and strictly speaking means only the attainment of sexual maturity in boys, not the resulting developments. Pubescence refers to the onset of puberty and strictly speaking means only the attainment of sexual maturity in boys, not the resulting developments. Thus, pubescence occurs at a mostly early time in puberty and makes a boy, biologically speaking, a man. He is now physically capable of fathering children of his own. Pubescence makes itself felt through spermarche, the first ejaculation of semen – it is comparable to the first menstrual period in a girl. It also occurs at about the same time, deviations upwards and downwards are normal. Pubescence marks the end of a developmental process in which the sexual organs mature to their adult function. As this increases testosterone levels in boys, physical developments such as the growth of underarm, pubic and facial hair follow as a consequence of puberty. Many boys also undergo character changes as a result of rising testosterone levels, for example developing their first sexual interest in girls and women. At the same time, puberty can also bring out health problems in boys that were not apparent in childhood. That is why some medical monitoring and observation of the developmental processes in adolescence is crucial, which is partly covered by the last U examinations.
Function and task
Pubescence has the task of enabling a boy to produce children. The thyroid gland, through the hormone thyroxine, takes on a crucial role in setting pubescence in motion. Eventually, the first sperm are produced and the first ejaculation occurs, which is characteristic of completed pubescence. However, humans differ from almost all other mammals in that the process of sexual maturity is extremely slow. Thus, although a boy is basically capable of fathering his own children after pubescence, the number and quality of sperm will continue to increase over the course of the next months and years. In addition, other physical characteristics develop through puberty, as it is the beginning of a long-lasting physical and psychological maturation process. Physically, increased testosterone levels over the years lead to an increase in body hair, the formation of muscles, masculine facial features and also character changes. Boys sometimes become more aggressive after puberty, but they also become increasingly interested in women and girls. Unlike many other mammals, boys are only physically capable of producing children after puberty. Psychologically, they are still far too young for this and must therefore take care to use proper contraception for quite some time as soon as they become sexually active. The benefit of pubescence in humans is therefore not so much in immediately fathering children of their own, but in the physical development of the boy into an adult male over the next few years. Pubescence is followed by other physical developments that are critical to healthy physical functioning in adulthood.
Diseases and ailments
Puberty is sometimes a very stressful, difficult time for both girls and boys, as many things change physically and nothing seems to go as it should. Although most young people are healthy, puberty in boys can provide the first clues to health problems that were previously unknown. Most difficulties arise at the hormonal level, since the hormones now being formed are responsible for setting in motion the boy’s physical developments into manhood. If this does not take place correctly, physical impairments are often permanent. Since the thyroid gland plays such a key role in puberty and later puberty, diseases of the thyroid gland can lead to late or non-occurrence of puberty and thus to impaired puberty.Tumors or even removals of the thyroid gland slow down the process of sexual maturity and are often only discovered through this – if they were previously unproblematic. Also (harmless) tumors on the pituitary gland in the brain are often discovered by an unusually proceeding pubescence. Thyroid hyper- or hypofunctions, on the other hand, are even easier to treat, but they too would become noticeable through disturbances of pubescence and puberty. In addition, defects in testosterone receptors can lead to unusual sexual maturation processes in boys. Less disturbing, but also unusual, is the premature onset of puberty, which also leads to earlier puberty. In addition to a genetic predisposition, other factors may also play a role here. However, the so-called pubertas praecox must be examined more closely in every case. It can be triggered by hyperthyroidism or hepatocellular carcinoma, for example, and would be a first symptom. The consequences of abnormal puberty and pubescence can be limited fertility or incomplete physical development, such as underdevelopment of the sexual organs. These would be irreversible in a serious case, since they are controlled by hormones in healthy boys and these cannot be subsequently supplied to the body.
