[Intersex and differences of sex development: background, diagnostics, and concepts of care].

Intersex is an inherited incongruence of chromosomal, gonadal, and genital sexual characteristics. A typical clinical situation of intersex is the ambiguous genitalia in the newborn. Diagnostics, counseling, and therapy should be offered by specialized multidisciplinary health-care teams. The focus is not only on medical issues but also on psychological, social, and ethical aspects. In the international literature, intersex is now termed "disorders of sex development" (DSD). Alternatively, some authors use "differences of sex development" to underline that patients do not necessarily feel they have a "disorder" but rather a "difference" of sex development compared with normal sex development.