Pathology
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Fetopathology and developmental pathology of the embryo and fetus
Marta Ježová, Josef Feit et al.
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Klinefelter syndrome
Etiology
  • karyotype 47 XXY and its variants (additional X and Y chromosomes — 48XXXY, 48XXYY, 49XXXXY, 49XXXYY), mosaicism in 20% of the cases.
Clinical signs
  • incidence 1 : 500 až 1 : 1000
  • the risk correlates with advanced maternal age
  • about 60% of conceptuses with Klinefelter syndrome are spontaneously aborted
  • normal life span
  • male habitus
  • main symptoms:
    • borderline intelligence or obvious mental retardation — the severity of mental retardation is directly related to the increasing number of extranumerary X chromosomes
    • psychiatric disorders, behavioral problems, learning disabilities
    • tall stature
    • eunuchoid body proportions
    • feminine distribution of pubic hair, sparse facial and body hair
    • gynecomastia in late puberty
    • osteoporosis
    • infertility

No symptoms are present during intrauterine developmental period. Diagnosis usually occurs in adulthood due to hypogonadism and infertility. Minor skeletal and cardiac anomalies (mitral valve prolapse) may be present.

Macroscopic appearance
  • Testicular dysgenesis: testes fail to enlarge during adolescence, azoospermia/oligospermia. Infertility is seen practically in all affected individuals with 47 XXY.
  • External genitalia: hypospadia or cryptorchidism in some cases
  • Clinodactyly
Histology

Testes: seminiferous tubules are atrophic, hyalinized, germ cells are absent, Leydig cells are hyperplastic