findmeinisrael
im in israel
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I'm tired of youngcels asking "How much growth do I have left", "Is it over?", "Can ___ Change?"
The truth is, nobody can guess how tall you are going to be, or what features you will lose/gain. You can only optimize what you already have. Puberty can make or break the rest of your life, and it's really hard to tell how much development you have left, but you can get a guesstimate with this.
In this thread I am going to go over the tanner scale, aka the SMR, sexual maturity rating.
Points regarding facial bone growth, fat distribution, and other metrics regarding pubertal development are mentioned at the bottom.
Tanner Stage 1
Testosterone sits at <20-30 ng/dL
Low pubertal development. Often all genitalia and other male sexual characteristics stay the same as this stage is your entire childhood.
Other descriptive characteristics/biomarkers:
Low basal LH/FSH; often near assay detection limit.
Testicular volume: <4ml
The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is relatively suppressed.
LH is generally extremely low during the daytime.
Importantly, LH secretion begins increasing at night before a large daytime testosterone increase occurs. This is one of the earliest biochemical signs of puberty.
Tanner Stage 2
Testosterone sits at 20-150 ng/dL
Testicles enlarge; scrotal skin changes; sparse pubic hair; beginning penile development.
Other descriptive characteristics/biomarkers:
LH begins increasing, especially pulsatile nighttime LH; FSH rises
Testicular volume 4-8mL
Pulsatile GnRH secretion increases.
LH pulses become more frequent/prominent.
Leydig cells respond to LH by increasing testosterone production.
FSH stimulates Sertoli-cell activity and spermatogenic development.
Inhibin B increases, reflecting Sertoli-cell activity.
IGF-1 begins increasing as growth hormone activity increases.
Tanner Stage 3
Testosterone sits at 100-400 ng/dL
Clear penile growth; further testicular enlargement; darker/coarser pubic hair; voice may begin changing
Other descriptive characteristics/biomarkers:
LH and FSH clearly elevated compared with childhood; LH becomes increasingly prominent
Testicular volume 8-12mL
The HPG axis is firmly activated.
Testosterone rises substantially.
LH stimulation of Leydig cells becomes stronger.
FSH and inhibin B reflect increasing Sertoli-cell function.
Growth hormone/IGF-1 activity increases markedly.
This is typically when the major pubertal growth acceleration becomes obvious.
Tanner Stage 4
Testosterone sits at 200-700 ng/dL
Near-adult genital development; adult-type pubic hair but not necessarily full distribution; marked secondary sexual characteristics
Other descriptive characteristics/biomarkers:
LH/FSH remain elevated and generally show adult pubertal pulsatility
Testicular volume 12-15mL
Testosterone secretion approaches adult physiology.
LH secretion has a mature pulsatile pattern.
Spermatogenesis is well established.
Estradiol also increases because some testosterone is aromatized to estradiol.
Rising estradiol is important for epiphyseal maturation and eventual growth-plate closure, despite testosterone being the dominant androgen.
Tanner Stage 5
Testosterone sits at 300-1000 ng/dL
Adult genital development and adult pubic-hair distribution
Other descriptive characteristics/biomarkers:
Adult-pattern LH/FSH secretion
Testicular volume 15-25mL+
Testosterone, LH, FSH, inhibin B and other reproductive biomarkers generally have adult-like patterns.
Growth plates are approaching or have reached closure.
IGF-1 generally peaks around puberty and subsequently declines toward adult levels.
Craniofacial Growth in Relation to Tanner Stages
Certain bones in the face mature at certain times. Some may mature in earlier stages and cap out earlier.
| Tanner stage | Predominant facial skeletal changes |
|---|---|
| Tanner I | Mostly prepubertal craniofacial growth. Maxilla and mandible continue their normal childhood growth. Cranial-base growth is progressively slowing. |
| Tanner II | Acceleration begins. Maxillary and mandibular growth rates increase. Ramus height and mandibular length begin responding more strongly to the pubertal growth acceleration. |
| Tanner III | Major pubertal facial growth period. Mandibular growth becomes particularly pronounced. Ramus height, mandibular body length, and overall mandibular dimensions increase substantially. Maxillary growth also continues, particularly through downward/forward displacement and sutural growth. |
| Tanner IV | Peak/late pubertal mandibular growth. This is generally the most important stage for the adolescent mandibular growth spurt. Ramus growth and mandibular length continue increasing, while maxillary growth is becoming progressively slower. |
| Tanner V | Facial skeletal growth continues but generally at a much slower rate. Mandibular growth can continue after other facial growth has substantially slowed. Small amounts of remodeling and dimensional change can persist into late adolescence/young adulthood. |
TWO PEOPLE CAN BE IN THE SAME TANNER STAGE AND HAVE DIFFERENT DEVEOPMENT! THIS IS NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL!
A couple of final notes: Facial fat and facial muscles can change drastically during puberty. Often times, subcutaneous fat melts away from the cheek area during puberty, so being bloated might not be the issue if you are a youngcel. Nasal growth could require its own section as it can grow and change longer than facial bones do. Remodeling can happen more often than growthm which can give a more defined appearence despite no growth occuring. Using exogenous methods such as growth hormone secretegogues, hGH, or AAS can progress pubertal development faster, but also brings aging faster, and at the risk of disrupting the normal production of these hormones.
Rep please! this is my first attempt at a thread of my own
Sources:
Variation in timing, duration, intensity, and direction of adolescent growth in the mandible, maxilla, and cranial base: the Fels longitudinal study - PubMed
There is considerable individual variation in the timing, duration, and intensity of growth that occurs in the craniofacial complex during childhood and adolescence. The purpose of this article is to describe the extent of this variation between traits and between individuals within the Fels...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Craniofacial growth and SITAR growth curve analysis - PubMed
The SITAR model is a useful tool to analyse epidemiological craniofacial growth based on cephalometric data and provides an array of information on pubertal mandibular growth and its variance in a concise manner.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Inhibin B in boys from birth to adulthood: relationship with age, pubertal stage, FSH and testosterone - PubMed
The two peaks of inhibin B during infancy and early puberty appear to reflect the two periods of Sertoli cell proliferation in normal human males. During mid-childhood, a relatively constant amount of inhibin B is secreted constitutively. The early FSH-independent increase in inhibin B that...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Ontogeny of gonadotropin, testosterone, and inhibin secretion in normal boys through puberty based on overnight serial sampling - PubMed
To investigate hormonal changes occurring in male puberty, we measured LH, FSH, testosterone, and alpha-inhibin immunoactivity in serum samples drawn every 10 min for 8 h (2100-0500 h) from each of 50 normal prepubertal and pubertal boys, aged 8.4-18.8 yr. We measured gonadotropins with...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
