Baylor Health Care System
 

Precocious puberty

Definition

Precocious puberty is when the body changes that normally occur during puberty happen earlier than normal. Puberty is the time in which sexual and physical characteristics mature.

Alternative Names

Pubertas praecox

Causes

The exact age a child enters puberty depends on a number of different things, such as a person's genes, nutrition, and gender. The main causes of precocious puberty are structural problems in the brain and tumors that release hormones.

Review Date: 8/15/2007
Reviewed By: Rachel A. Lewis, MD, FAAP, Columbia University Pediatric Faculty Practice, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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