Editing Castration (section)

==Medical consequences==
{{See also|Neutering#Health and behavioral effects}}
 
A subject of castration who is altered before the onset of puberty will retain a high voice, as well as the effects of hypogonadism, which include non-muscular build, an infantile penis, a lack of a beard, more developed subcutaneous fat. He may be taller than average, with long limbs, so called "eunuchoid appearance", as the production of sex hormones in puberty—more specifically, estrogen via aromatization of testosterone—stops long bone growth in a process called osseous maturation. The subject may lack the male distribution of axillary hair, and may develop [[pubic hair]] distributed in female pattern. They may have a low sex drive or none at all.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peschel |first1=Enid Rhodes |last2=Peschel |first2=Richard E. |title=Medical Insights into the Castrati in Opera |journal=American Scientist |date=1987 |volume=75 |issue=6 |pages=578–583 |jstor=27854886 |bibcode=1987AmSci..75..578R |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27854886.pdf |access-date=30 January 2024 |issn=0003-0996}}</ref>

Castration stops the progression of [[male pattern baldness]]. However, hair regrowth – if it occurs at all – may be limited to hair that was lost shortly before castration.<ref>{{Cite journal
| doi = 10.1210/jcem-20-10-1309
| last1 = Hamilton | first1 = J. B.
| title = Effect of castration in adolescent and young adult males upon further changes in the proportions of bare and hairy scalp
| journal = The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
| volume = 20
| issue = 10
| pages = 1309–1318
| year = 1960
| pmid = 13711016
}}</ref>

Historically, many eunuchs who additionally underwent a [[penectomy]] reportedly had urinary incontinence associated with the removal of the penis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medspe.fr/site/templates/template.php?identifiant_article=2166&surlignage=2&PHPSESSID=bd0a2427de5e5665b9c541ca8a6ecc71 |title=The various types of eunuch in the Byzantine state: their role and symbolic meaning |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113171516/http://www.medspe.fr/site/templates/template.php?identifiant_article=2166&surlignage=2&PHPSESSID=bd0a2427de5e5665b9c541ca8a6ecc71 |archive-date=13 November 2007}}</ref>

A study of 81 historical eunuchs in Korea's royal court found a 14- to 19-year increase in lifespan compared to intact men of similar socioeconomic background; these eunuchs had a [[centenarian]] rate of over 3%.<ref name="koreaeun">{{cite web|url=http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/24/14070451-upside-to-castration-eunuchs-lived-longer-study-finds|title=Upside to castration? Eunuchs lived longer, study finds|access-date=24 September 2012|archive-date=27 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927032015/http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/24/14070451-upside-to-castration-eunuchs-lived-longer-study-finds|url-status=dead}}</ref>