The common view on penile development is that it is androgen-dependent, based first and foremost on the fact that the genital tubercle forms a penis in males and a clitoris in females. However, critical examination of the complex processes involved in human penile development reveals that many individual steps in development of the genital tubercle are common to both males and females, and thus can be interpreted as androgen-independent. For certain developmental events this conclusion is bolstered by observations in androgen-insensitive patients and androgen receptor mutant mice. Events in genital tubercle development that are common to human males and females include: formation of (a) the genital tubercle, (b) the urethral plate, (c) the urethral groove, (d) the glans, (e) the prepuce and (f) the corporal body. For humans 6 of 13 individual developmental steps in penile development were interpreted as androgen-independent. For mice 5 of 11 individual developmental steps were found to be androgen-independent, which were verified through analysis of androgen-insensitive mutants. Observations from development of external genitalia of other species (moles and spotted hyena) provide further examples of androgen-independent events in penile development. These observations support the counter-intuitive idea that penile development involves both androgen-independent and androgen-dependent processes.

关于阴茎发育的普遍观点是，它是雄激素依赖性的，首先是基于生殖器结节在雄性中形成阴茎而在雌性中形成阴蒂这一事实。但是，对涉及人类阴茎发育的复杂过程的严格检查显示，生殖器结节发育的许多单个步骤对于男性和女性都是共同的，因此可以解释为与雄激素无关。对于某些发育事件，这一结论得到了对雄激素不敏感的患者和雄激素受体突变小鼠的观察的支持。男性和女性常见的生殖器官结节事件包括：（a）生殖器官结节，（b）尿道板，（c）尿道沟，（d）龟头，（e）包皮和（f）身体。对于人类，在阴茎发育中的13个个体发育步骤中有6个被解释为与雄激素无关。对于小鼠，发现11个独立发育步骤中的5个与雄激素无关，这通过对雄激素不敏感突变体的分析得到了证实。其他物种（痣和斑点鬣狗）外部生殖器发育的观察结果提供了阴茎发育中雄激素非依赖性事件的更多实例。这些观察结果支持阴茎发育涉及雄激素非依赖性和雄激素依赖性过程的反常理。其他物种（痣和斑点鬣狗）外部生殖器发育的观察结果提供了阴茎发育中雄激素非依赖性事件的更多实例。这些观察结果支持阴茎发育涉及雄激素非依赖性和雄激素依赖性的过程的违反直觉的观点。其他物种（痣和斑点鬣狗）外部生殖器发育的观察结果提供了阴茎发育中雄激素非依赖性事件的更多实例。这些观察结果支持阴茎发育涉及雄激素非依赖性和雄激素依赖性的过程的违反直觉的观点。