Dr. Vonda Wright

But this happens not only at the organ level.

It makes sense that if we have a population with XX chromosomes, a population with XY, genetically and the way we express those genes are differently.

But I think we miss the fact that down to a cellular level, every cell from an XX expresses these tissue changes, tissue manifestations differently than an XY.

Our lab used to study...

We called them muscle-derived stem cells 20 years ago.

Now they're called satellite cells.

But when we harvested them and asked them to behave in different environments...

Satellite cells from XX people and XX animals, women, females, were better under the same circumstances experimentally at making cartilage and muscle.

XY, male, were better under the same circumstances in making bone.

So down to a cellular level, we express our genes differently.

It should be no mystery to us or anybody else that there are differences.

And yet,

But there is the propensity just to lump us all in the same basket and almost say, I almost sometimes feel as pejorative to say, oh, the women are different.

Of course they're different.

We're genetically different.

Down to every cell in our body.

Every cell.

So it should be no surprise to anybody.

But it seems to be a surprise.

But this is pervasive, not just an OB.