Organohalogen concentrations and a gross and histologic ...

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Table 5
Comparison of changes in the external genitalia of free-living female polar bears from East
Greenland (Scoresby Sound) and Svalbard.
Information Central East Greenland Svalbard
Adult Adults Cubs
Number One Two Two
Age 23-yrs 15-yrs Yearling
Year 1999 1990/97 1996
Sex F F F
Age 23 years 15 years Yearlings
Vulva Swollen Swollen Undeveloped
Female with cub(s) No No/weaned or
lost cubs
No
Female in company
with adult male
No No/Yes No
Vaginal opening Normal Normal Normal
Clitoris length ≥27 mm ≥20 mm ≥20 mm penis-like
Clitoris width ≥22 mm . .
Clitoris height ≥21 mm . .
Baculum No (histology) No (palpated) Yes (palpated)
Location of clitoris/penis Normal Normal Caudal to normal
Concealing Normal pairs of labia Normal Vaginal opening by a
single pair of labia
Urethral opening Normal Normal 5mm laterally to the distal
end of the penis-like
clitoris
Y-chromosome (male) No ? No
Conclusions
A 23-year-old female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) shot in East Greenland in
1999 had a significantly enlarged clitoris resembling in colour and form
those of ‘pseudohermaphroditic’ adult female polar bears reported from
Svalbard. The macrosopic and examination showed that its external and internal
sexual organs, except the enlarged clitoris, were similar to those in a
reference group of 23 normale female polar bears from East Greenland collected
in 1999-2002. The bear was a female genotype, and macroscopic examination
of her sexual organs indicated that she was reproductively functional.
However, a histological examination of the clitoris revealed intense
chronic ulcerative and perivascular clitoriditis showing that the enlargement
was an inflammatory reaction, due to licking and biting, and not pseudohermaphroditism.
The levels of major classes of OHCs were lower in this
bear than in the reference group and wildlife and laboratory mammals suggesting
that these compounds were not linked to the clitoral enlargement.
Total TEQ values of PCDDs, PCDFs and nPCBs showed levels 100-1000
lower than known thresholds from wildlife and laboratory mammals. Neither
could a difference in skull mineral density be found in the female compared
to a reference material. Hence, the clitoral enlargement in the present
adult female polar bear was due to an inflammatory response, why pseudohermaphroditism
in adult female polar bears reported in the past could stem
from misdiagnoses.