David L. Chadwick, MD: The purpose of this seminar is to discuss a problem which has aroused considerably difference of opinion among the staff members of this hospital. The problem is: Should every female with inguinal hernias be studied to determine if she has the testicular feminization syndrome? Recently, I received a complaint from a member of the staff about such a patient. The patient had undergone surgery and, on the day of discharge, the intern made a buccal smear for sex chromatin determination in the presence of the parents. When the parents asked about the purpose of the test, they learned that it was to find out if the gonads were normal. This question had not been raised previously and the parents were quite upset about the possibility of such an abnormality. Moreover they were distressed to learn about the possibility of a gonadal disorder in this way. They