Video - Puberty and Tanner staging

Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. During puberty, the sex organs mature functionally and begin producing sex hormones and gametes. It begins when the hypothalamus and the pituitary switch from a linear pattern of GnRH, FSH, and LH secretion to a pulsatile pattern.

In addition, in females, there's also a 28-day cycle of gonadotropin secretion called the menstrual cycle. The increased production of sex hormones determines the development of primary and secondary sex characteristics in both sexes, and these characteristics can be evaluated with the Tanner staging. The Tanner staging system consists of five stages, with stage 1 being the "pre-pubertal" stage, and stage 5 being the fully mature adult stage. Each stage is defined by specific physical characteristics: Stage 1: Pre-pubertal, no secondary sexual characteristics Stage 2: Beginning of breast development or testicular enlargement Stage 3: Further breast or testicular development Stage 4: Nearly mature; breast or testicular size nearly adult Stage 5: Adult; breast or testicles are fully mature