Tanner staging

I actually administered Tanner staging tests to teens of various ages (to be precise at 10yrs, 14yrs, and 18-20yrs). Tl;dr: Tanner staging can be done through self-reports as well.

I was participating in a student research group and we were studying how puberty affects a certain neurological function (nothing sexual, just a regular brain function that I'm too lazy to explain right now). And we were using EEG measures, so there was no nudity involved.

So that way it worked is that we gave our subjects a questionnaire in which they self-reported their development (e.g. hair growth, genital growth, etc.) and that was good enough to get an estimate on their Tanner staging.

I guess that Tanner staging on medical exam forms work about the same way, except that the doctor gets a visual on puberty development and just crosses the box that fits best.

Never had Tanner or orchydometer test and I don't understand how they work.

As far as I know, testîcles size varies in most men, from I would say olive to egg, size and I don't see how you can acccess a puberty development stage by mesuring the testîcles.

So that way it worked is that we gave our subjects a questionnaire in which they self-reported their development (e.g. hair growth, genital growth, etc.) and that was good enough to get an estimate on their Tanner staging.

I would hope that boastful over-exaggeration of size and length was factored in when assessing the self-reported measurements. 😃

Never had Tanner or orchydometer test and I don't understand how they work.

As far as I know, testîcles size varies in most men, from I would say olive to egg, size and I don't see how you can acccess a puberty development stage by mesuring the testîcles.

Comparison. Typically not a one off thing. Each bead has a number on it. So when I was 13, though I don't remember the doctor pulling out the orchidometer, he probably could just estimate that I was still prepubertal, i.e. 1, 2, or 3. But when I was 14, and he did use the orchidometer, he measured me as a 5, which is why he said I had just started puberty. So a year later, when I had caught up significantly, he likewise was able to judge that I was 15 or larger, which signified that my testicles were at full adult size. But if you use the orchidometer at mutliple exams in a row, and you keep track of the bead numbers in the records, you definitely know how a guy is progressing.

I had it done during annual school check-ups.

I don’t use anything to measure the patient but I do verbally discuss finding as I examine the patients genitalia.

I guess I could google it ? But what is Tanner staging? sorry never heard of it.

I guess I could google it ? But what is Tanner staging? sorry never heard of it.

Tanner staging is the visual assessment of the development of secondary sexual characteristics - breast development, genital development and hair growth. There are standardised charts specifying the stages from 1 (pre-puberty) to 5 (full adult development)

I don't recall having this done as a kid and I don't have children. I would like to have seen what the doctor wrote when I had my first pelvic exam at age 15 due to heavy bleeding. He didn't check my breasts but I wonder if he wrote anything about my pubic hair. My first pelvic exam was so embarrassing, I just wanted to forget about it at that time.

When I was 11, there were two girls in my class doing their own version of tanner staging. They were commenting on which girls had breasts and were wearing bras. I remember them saying I didn't have anything yet and started laughing. It didn't bother me because I wasn't in a hurry especially to start getting periods.

I don't recall having this done as a kid and I don't have children. I would like to have seen what the doctor wrote when I had my first pelvic exam at age 15….

Tanner staging itself isn't a separate part of the exam so often isn't something you will specifically recall.

If stethed topless your dr could assess your thelarche, if external genital exam or at the least pulling back waist band of panties the dr could stage you pubarche.

By and large once a girl attains menarche then tannger staging is a little redundant.

By and large once a girl attains menarche then tanner staging is a little redundant.

Why are there different stages then? When I started my period, I wasn't at stage five. My breasts weren't even fully developed.

The importance of staging in a general check up is really to semi quantify secondary sexual development; is it normal, is it earlier than expected or later than usual and alert your physician to any potentional abnormality.

If you are stage 4/5 breast development but have not had a period yet it should alert your physician to investigate potentional abnormalities such as congential malformations.

There is not huge difference between 4 and 5 breast development. In my era or practice if your attained menarche at the average age then tanner staging didnt really need any further documenting in notes.

I would hope that boastful over-exaggeration of size and length was factored in when assessing the self-reported measurements. 😃

As far as I remember, our subjects only needed to check on a scale from 1 (like a pre-pubertal child) to 5 (like a post-pubertal adult). And yes, there were pictures in black & white drawings on the questionnaire.

I guess that was accurately enough for the purpose we were studying.

I've had that done several times even recently. Last copy of the exam form he marked tanner left 2, tanner right 5.

My pediatrician would use this Tanner Stage chart that was on the wall of the exam room it had both female and male genitals on it and he would have me stand next to it nude feel my testicles, penis and roll back my foreskin all while I was erect which i would always dread.

Never had it done, but do remember seeing an orchidometer at my doc's office when i was younger.

I’ve had my testicles development checked quite regularly during my childhood. But the Prader beads were never used. Instead, it was a homemade "device": something like a plastic sheet, like a notebook cover or something, thick but flexible plastic. And there were holes hand-cut with the scissors in it in a row. About 10 of them. From very small to quite large.

Holding this "sheet" with one hand, she took my right testicle with the other and began to try it into holes that it would fit into.

While she was pushing my ball into the holes she was describing to my parent, "See, the hole for 10-12 year olds is very wide," and stuck my testicle in there. It "drowned" there, so she took it out and inserted it into a smaller hole, where it fit snugly.

"The right testicle is developed as if for an 8-10-year-old." The left testicle followed the same protocol, but it was too small even for the 8-10-year-old hole, but already too big for a 6-8-year-old.

If it's like your profile picture, that's an ellipse template.

I have one (and another for circles), but for drawing ellipses rather than gauging testicle size.

I remember when puberty began at about 11 and a half until about 14 my pediatrician had a box with a set of machine made testicles in at least 8 sizes and she would hold one in one hand while holding my testicle in her other then write the size in my chart. I didn’t understand why until later that it was a form of tanner staging.