Blood and genetic tests, and not undescended testes, are the key to determining whether a child is intersex. The tests will be ordered if both testicles have failed to descend and the doctor cannot feel them within the abdomen. In such cases, the child may be intersex: genetically female but with what are called ambiguous genitalia, which have the appearance of male genitalia. A blood test will reveal certain key indicators such as elevated presence of female hormones and the genetic test will look at the presence of the sex-related X- and Y-chromosomes. The key factor to keep in mind is that apparent lack of testicles does not automatically mean the child is intersex; ultimately, it is the presence and combination of X- and Y-chromosomes that determine a child's sex.
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