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Sexual maturity
 
 
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Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
 can reproduce
Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction is characterized by processes that pass a Genetic recombination of Genetics material to offspring, resulting in Genetic diversity....
. It is sometimes considered synonym
Synonym

Synonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy....
ous with adulthood, though the two are distinct. In humans, the process of sexually maturing is termed puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
.

Most multicellular organisms are unable to sexually reproduce at birth (or germination), and depending on the species, it may be days, weeks, or years until their bodies are able to do so. Also, certain cues may cause the organism to become sexually mature.






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Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
 can reproduce
Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction is characterized by processes that pass a Genetic recombination of Genetics material to offspring, resulting in Genetic diversity....
. It is sometimes considered synonym
Synonym

Synonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy....
ous with adulthood, though the two are distinct. In humans, the process of sexually maturing is termed puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
.

Most multicellular organisms are unable to sexually reproduce at birth (or germination), and depending on the species, it may be days, weeks, or years until their bodies are able to do so. Also, certain cues may cause the organism to become sexually mature. They may be external, such as drought, or internal, such as percentage of body fat (such internal cues are not to be confused with hormones which directly produce sexual maturity).

Sexual maturity is brought about by a maturing of the reproductive organs and the production of gamete
Gamete

A gamete is a Cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization in organisms that sexual reproduction. In species which produce two morphologically distinct types of gametes, and in which each individual produces only one type, a female is any individual which produces the larger type of gamete?called an ovum ?and a male produces th...
s. It may also be accompanied by a growth spurt or other physical changes which distinguish the immature organism from its adult form. These are termed secondary sex characteristic
Secondary sex characteristic

Secondary sex characteristics are traits that distinguish the two sexes of a species, but that are not directly part of the reproductive system....
s, and often represent an increase in sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include color , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks....
. For example, before puberty, human children have flat chests, but adult females have breast
Breast

The breast is the upper ventral region of an animal?s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate?s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
s while adult males do not.

After sexual maturity is achieved, it is possible for some organisms to become infertile, or even to change their sex. Some organisms are hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite

A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs. In many species, hermaphroditism is a common part of the life-cycle, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which partners are not separated into distinct male and female types of individual....
s and may or may not be able to produce viable offspring. Also, while in many organisms sexual maturity is strongly linked to age, many other factors are involved, and it is possible for some to display most or all of the characteristics of the adult form without being sexually mature. Conversely, it is also possible for the "immature" form to reproduce (see progenesis
Progenesis

Progenesis is a mechanism in developmental biology that is associated with paedomorphosis. Progenesis refers to the attainment of sexual maturity by an organism still in its larval or juvenile stage and a secondary result of never experiencing later developmental stages....
).

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