Intersex activists have preferred the word intersex, since the word hermaphrodite is considered to be stigmatizing, as well as "scientifically specious and clinically problematic. "There are no hermaphroditic species among mammals or birds. According to David B. Rivers there is controversy around hermaphroditism in insects with some experts believing it does not occur. Hermaphroditism is said to occur in one or two insect species.A rough estimate of the number of hermaphroditic animal species is 65,000. The percentage of animal species that are hermaphroditic is about 5% in all animal species, or 33% excluding insects. (Although the current estimated total number of animal species is about 7.7 million, the study, which estimated the number, 65,000, used an estimated total number of animal species, 1,211,577 from "Classification phylogénétique du vivant (Vol. 2)" - Lecointre and Le Guyader (2001)). Most hermaphroditic species exhibit some degree of self-fertilization. The distribution of self-fertilization rates among animals is similar to that of plants, suggesting that similar pressures are operating to direct the evolution of selfing in animals and plants. Etymology
The term derives from the Latin: hermaphroditus, from Ancient Greek: ἑρμαφρόδιτος, romanized: hermaphroditos, which derives from Hermaphroditus (Ἑρμαφρόδιτος), the son of Hermes and Aphrodite in Greek mythology. According to Ovid, he fused with the nymph Salmacis resulting in one individual possessing physical traits of male and female sexes; according to the earlier Diodorus Siculus, he was born with a physical body combining male and female sexes. The word hermaphrodite entered the English lexicon as early as the late fourteenth century.
Carotidynia is a syndrome characterized by unilateral (one-sided) tenderness of the carotid artery, near the bifurcation. It was first described in 1927 by Temple Fay. The most common cause of carotidynia may be migraine, and then it is usually self-correcting. Common migraine treatments may help alleviate the carotidynia symptoms. Recent histological evidence has implicated an inflammatory component of carotidynia, but studies are limited. Carotid arteritis is a much less common cause of carotidynia, but has much more serious consequences. It is a form of giant cell arteritis, which is a condition that usually affects arteries in the head. Due to this serious condition possibly causing carotidynia, and the possibility that neck pain is related to some other non-carotidynia and serious condition, the case should be investigated by a medical doctor. Because carotidynia can be caused by numerous causes, Biousse and Bousser in 1994 recommended the term not be used in the medical literature. However, recent MRI and ultrasound studies have supported the existence of a differential diagnosis of carotidynia consistent with Fays characterization. References
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