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What happens during puberty?
Puberty is the time when the sex organs first become functional. Puberty is first triggered by signals from the brain. The hypothalamus will secrete a hormone called Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) which will travel to the Pituitary gland and signal it to begin releasing the hormones (FSH) Follicle stimulating hormone and (LH) Lutenizing hormone. These hormones travel through the blood stream to the gonads and signal the testis to produce testosterone in men and the ovaries to produce estrogen in women.
These hormones are responsible for the secondary sexual characteristics that occur in the sexes. In men, they grow hair on their face, chest, arms, groin, and legs, they grow in size, their voice drops, and they become more aggressive. In women, their skin soften and their breasts and hips grow.
The primary function of these signals, is that boys will begin to produce sperm (spermatogenesis), and girls will begin to release eggs (ovulation).