Before you set out on a penis enlargement endeavor of any kind, whether it be penis pills, penis herbs, penis exercises or any other form of penis enlargement... know your penis anatomy!
The following is a glossary of penis anatomy terms that will help you understand your penis better. Believe me when I say, knowing your penis is a good thing. You penis is your friend so treat him that way...
adhesion
- False diagnosis of normal union between neonatal foreskin and glans as pathological. "Cured" by circumcision, as sleep in the eyes would be cured by beheading.
- Iatrogenic joining of the penis foreskin to the glans caused by misguided attempts to separate them prematurely, with tearing and joining of raw wound-tissues. Can cause phimosis.
- anastomosis
- Cross-connection, esp. of veins in the penis foreskin. (Gk. ana- = back, stomos = opening, pl. anastomoses)
- aposthia
- Condition of naturally having no penis foreskin. According to tradition, Mohammed was born without a foreskin (aposthetic) and Muslims practise penis circumcision to be like him. (Gk a- = not, posthe = foreskin, -ia = condition)
- balanitis
- Inflammation of the penis glans. May be treated without surgery. Birley et al. found that one cause was too much washing with soap. (Gk balanos = acorn)
- Balanitis Xerotica Obliterans
- (BXO, also known as lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, LSA), an even more fearsome-sounding condition, can also be treated without surgery. Assman et al. treat it with tacrolimus ointment 0.1%.
Marilyn Milos writes: A Florida pharmacist says BXO is not uncommon and easily treatable with this:
1% Clotrimazole cream and 1% Hydrocortisone cream, mixed together and applied 3 times daily.
Improvement is noticeable within seven days and full retraction returns in 30 days.
This therapy has worked on more than a dozen men since I learned about the treatment. The only person it didn't work on was the man who wasn't diligent in the application of the creams.
I hope this is helpful to others.
- balanoposthitis
- Frightening-sounding name for inflammation of the glans and penis foreskin. Like any other inflammation, can be treated without surgery.
- balanopreputial membrane
- See synechia.
- "ballooning"
- Inflation of the penis foreskin with urine during urination. Perfectly normal in neonates unless it causes pain. Can then be treated without surgery.
- bulb
- The swollen end of the corpus spongiousum inside the pelvis.
- bulbo-cavernosal reflex
- Contraction of the bulb and corpora cavernosa, part of the reflex of ejaculation. Single contractions can be elicited by pinching the glans or stretching the ridged band when the penis is erect.
- bulla
- The swelling of the urethra just inside the meatus. (L. = bubble)
- buried penis
- A condition in which the shaft of the penis is buried in the fat of the groin. May be a natural condition, or caused or aggravated by penis circumcision. More details on the Complications page.
- cingulus levis
- Anatomical Latin name suggested by Ken McGrath for the zone or band of smooth mucosa on the inner penis foreskin. (L. = smooth zone)
- cingulus rugosus
- Anatomical Latin name suggested by Ken McGrath for the ridged band (L. = corrugated zone)
- condyloma
- A wartlike excrescence on the skin of the genitals, perineum, or anus. Another excuse for circumcision. (Gk. kondyl- = a knob, -oma = a growth, , pl. condylomata]
- corona (glandis)
- The flange at the base of the glans penis. (L. = crown of the acorn) If a more down-to-earth expression is wanted, it might be called "the ridge of the glans".
Picture of corona glandis - corpus cavernosum
- One of the two partially hollow columns forming the sides and dorsum of the shaft of the penis, that engorge with blood in erection. (L. = cavernous body, pl. corpora cavernosa)
- corpus spongiosum
- The spongy body running under the corpora cavernosa along the length of the penis, surrounding the urethra, that partially engorges with blood in erection. Its outermost end becomes the glans penis, its far end is a bulb. ( L. = spongy body, pl. corpora spongiosa)
- crura
- The corpora cavernosa stay together for the whole of the length of the visible penis and some of the portion inside the body. They diverge in two branches, called crura, for their attachments to the pelvis. (L. crus = leg, pl. crura)
- dartos (fascia)
- A thin layer of muscle lying directly under the skin of the penis and scrotum (it causes the scrotum to retract when cold and writhe when hot). It runs around the tip of the foreskin, forming the preputial sphincter.
- desquamation
- The natural shedding of the cells of the outer surface of an organ. In the desquamation of the synechia of the penis, whorls of cells form in the membrane and die from the inside of the whorls out, creating hollows. Over a widely variable period of time, the hollows merge to form the preputial space, which then allows the unique mobility of the foreskin. Desquamation, in the form of de-keratinisation, also occurs from the glans after foreskin restoration. (L. losing of scales)
- distal (to)
- Farther from the body. (opp. proximal)
- dorsal
- Of the dorsum: in the case of the penis, on the upper side when its owner is "in the Anatomical Position" - standing upright and with penis erect. (opp. ventral) [dorsal slit]
- dorsal veins
- Veins running down the dorsal side of the penis. The superficial dorsal veins run under the shaft skin and ramify through the foreskin. The deep dorsal vein runs between the corpora cavernosa, well under the skin. (It becomes more prominent on erection in circumcised men.)
Picture of superficial dorsal veins
dorsum
- the back (dorsal) part (L. = back).
- epispadias
- A condition in which the meatus points upward rather than forward. Does not require treatment if urinary flow is not obstructed. May also be iatrogenic, if the glans is included when the penis foreskin is first slit with scissors during circumcision.
- fibroblast
- A cell that generates fibres that link cells. After an injury (including penis circumcision), it is the fibroblasts that make the scar tissue. In the circumcised penis, fibroblasts form fibres joining the underlying penis shaft and the layers of penis shaft-skin, immobilising it. The first stage of non-surgical restoration breaks the fibres, causing inflammation but giving an initial surge of mobility.
- FORESKIN
- Surprisingly hard to define, and the outer layer of the penis foreskin does not exist as an entity distinct from the shaft-skin of the penis. (For that reason it is not specifically marked in the picture.) In general though, the foreskin is the tapered cylindrical double layer of tissue extending from behind the corona distally to about the end of the glans and returning, and generally considered to end at the same distance along the penis as it began (ie, it is defined by circumcision...). From the corona to the ridged band its surface is mucosa; the rest is skin, and it is lined with part of the dartos muscle. On erection for most men it unrolls into a single-layered cylinder, mucosa behind the corona, skin proximal to that, enclosing about half of the penis shaft. A non-erotic animation on this site demonstrates its unique action better than any words can. For other names for the foreskin, see below.
- "foreskin cheese"
- See smegma
- fossa navicularis
- See bulla (L., fossa = channel, navicularis = boat-shaped)
- frenar band
- See ridged band. (A different structure from the frenulum.)
- frenular artery
- The artery that supplies blood to the frenulum. (It is cutting this artery that causes haemorrhage in circumcision.)
- frenular band
- See ridged band. (A different structure from the frenulum.)
- frenular delta
- A triangular area of mucosa under the penis whose apex is the frenulum, whose sides are the ridged band and whose base is the junction between the inner and outer zones of the foreskin (the transition zone). A highly erogenous area, often completely ablated (destroyed) by circumcision. Described by Ken McGrath and announced at the Sixth International Symposium on Genital Integrity, Sydney, 9 December 2000.
Picture of frenular delta (artificially coloured) - frenular triangle
- See frenular delta.
- frenular veins
- Veins that traverse the ventral foreskin to drain blood from the frenulum - further reminders that the foreskin is not "just a piece of skin".
Picture of frenular vein - frenulum
- The membrane attaching the foreskin to the glans and shaft of the penis (at the ventral midline, just proximal to the meatus). It is richly endowed with nerves. Often only a remnant of the frenulum is left after circumcision, if it is not also removed. Many circumcised men consider it their "G-spot" - but only because their "G-area", the ridged band and frenular delta, has been removed. (L. fraenulum = little bridle pl. frenula) There are also frenula under the tongue and elsewhere.
- frenulum breve
- Strictly, having a short frenulum, but commonly, having a short ridged band, a cause of phimosis and an impressive-sounding excuse for circumcision. (L. brevis = short) According to an English newspaper article, it can be treated instead by frenuloplasty.
- frenum
- Sometimes used for frenulum. (L. fraenum = bridle)
- glans (penis)
- The bulbous head of the penis, normally wholly or partially concealed inside the foreskin.
Contrary to many sex manuals that say the glans is highly sensitive:
"The glans, by contrast, is insensitive to light touch, heat, cold [17] and, as far as the authors are aware, to pin-prick. Le Gros Clark [18] noted that the glans penis is one of the few areas on the body that enjoys nothing beyond primitive sensory modalities." The prepuce: Specialized mucosa of the penis
17. Dym M. The male reproductive system. In Weiss L ed., Histology: Cell And Tissue Biology. 5th edn. New York: Elsevier Biomedical, 1983: 1051
and its loss to circumcision
by J.R. Taylor, A.P. Lockwood and A.J. Taylor
18. Le Gros Clark WE. The Tissues of the Body. 5th edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965: 329
(Some have challenged "pin-prick" but that's "-prick", not "jab" or "puncture".)(L. = acorn (of the penis), pl. glandes (pen[i]um) The same word is the root of "gland")
- hypospadias
- A condition in which the meatus points downward rather than forward. In the most serious cases the opening may be at the base of the penis. Hypospadias occurs in about one boy in 300 in the US. (but the rate has increased in the last three decades, and is currently one in 125 - New Scientist, 29 June 2002: exposure during pregnancy to anti-androgens and oestrogen-mimics generated by industrial pollution is suspected.) Hypospadias is an absolute contraindication for circumcision, because the foreskin can be used for its repair, but many boys with hypospadias are circumcised regardless. It may be iatrogenic, a consequence of circumcision (picture). It may be repaired without circumcision, using the Byars' flaps technique or its "Batman excision" refinement. (Gk = drawn under)
- kynodesme
- (Gk= dog leash) a thong worn by athletes in the classical Greek gymnasium around the acroposthion to ensure that the glans remained concealed. (Its exposure would have been offensive.) If their circumcision was not too radical (periah), Jews could use the kynodesme to conceal it.
- Klatch, area of
- The hairy triangular segment of the front of the scrotum that hangs from the shaft of the penis. Of no particular significance, except to underline how neglected the preputial area and its naming has been by comparison.
- lipodermos
- (Gk = lacking skin) Condition of having an inadequate foreskin (one that leaves the glans exposed [psolos]), regarded as a defect by the ancient Greeks. A person with lipodermos was called a leipodermos. Lipodermos could be treated by herbs, traction or surgery.
- lysozyme
- "Lysozyme protects us from the ever-present danger of bacterial infection. It is a small enzyme that attacks the protective cell walls of bacteria." "Lysozyme protects many places that are rich in potential food for bacterial growth." "Our tears and mucus contain lysozyme to resist infection of our exposed surfaces."
- from Protein Data Bank Molecule of the Month, by David Goodsell
According to Fleiss et al
"The inner prepuce contains apocrine glands, which secrete cathepsin B, lysosyme chymotrypsin, neutrophil elastase, cytokine (a non-antibody protein that generates an immune response on contact with specific antigens), and pheromones such as androsterone. Lysozyme, which is also found in tears, human milk, and other body fluids, destroys bacterial cell walls."
- meatal lips
- The tiny swellings on either side of the meatus. (may be pronounced me-ay-tal) Their conformation is very different after circumcision.
- meatus
- The opening of the urethra. (pl meatus or meatuses, may be pronounced as three syllables, me-a-tus)
- megaprepuce
- A very large foreskin (Gk mega = large)
- Congenital megaprepuce. A very rare condition that does seem to cause real problems. It is treated by surgical resection, not circumcision. (D.J. Summerton, J. Mcnally, A.J. Denny and P.S.J. Malone, "Congenital megaprepuce: an emerging condition - how to recognize and treat it" BJU International 86 (4), 2000, 519-522)
- Secondary megaprepuce. A Spanish boy aged 9 enjoyed a foreskin so long he could tuck it under his underpants belt. This bothered his parents, who enlisted doctors to cut it off, but not before they procured an erection with it and took photographs of it erect. They then wrote with self-satisfaction in the British Journal of Urology about what they had done. (J. Gomez, M. Puyol and V. Menendez, "Secondary megaprepuce", BJU (1996), 78, 959-960)
- Meissner's corpuscles
- Nerve-endings associated with the perception of fine variations of touch (and pleasure), very numerous in the ridged band and frenulum.
- microposthia
- Condition of having a very small foreskin, sometimes used as a justification for circumcision on the basis that nothing much is lost, ignoring the role of the ridged band (Gk micro = small)
- mucosa
- Skin-like membrane lining the penis foreskin and covering the glans (and lining the vagina, mouth and anus). It is normally always moist.
- mucous membrane
- See mucosa.
- Pacinian corpuscles
- Another name for Vater-Pacinian corpuscles
- papilla coronis
- Any of the small white points of hardened mucous membrane along the corona glandis in some intact men. In circumcised men they are usually lost among the general keratinisation. They are perfectly normal, but sometimes alarm their owner when he first discovers them. In some men they are prominent and exquisitely sensitive, to pain or pleasure depending on context. Their existence has been the basis of a circumstition. (L= little nipple of the corona, pl. papillae coronis)
(In cats and rodents they are much more pointed, shocking the females into ovulation, and related to the much sharper ones on cats' tongues.)
- paraphimosis
- Condition where the ridged band is trapped behind the corona. May be relieved without surgery. (Gk para = other, faulty; phimosis = muzzling)
- PENIS
- Male sexual organ. But you knew that.
1. Definition:- The foreskin is an integral part of the penis, not an extra.
- More than half the penis is contained inside the body. (Some methods of penis enlargement involve bringing some of that part out.)
- penile
- Of the penis.
- phimosis
- Inability to retract the foreskin. Normal in all neonates (because the synechia attach the foreskin to the glans), many children and some adults (if the ridged band is short). In adults it is usually caused by infection, which needs to be treated. Blalock et al. found circumcision to cause phimosis in 2.9% of babies. Phimosis can be treated without surgery if it is painful or if the urinary flow is obstructed. European doctors limit the term to an inability to retract caused by scarring, such as results from Balanitis Xerotica Obliterans. Beaugé suggests a non-surgical method of treatment. Berdeu et al found non-surgical treatment to be more cost-effective than surgery. Lang found medical treatment to be effective in 53 out of 56 cases.
(Gk, = muzzling, but Frederick Hodges, in his essay "Phimosis in Antiquity", shows that the Greeks did not define it as modern medicine does, to include simple non-rectractability or "excessive" foreskin, but on the contrary recognised a condition of lipodermus - insufficient foreskin.) - posthe
- Gk, = forekskin, but strictly, "the portion of the foreskin that merely enfolds the glans penis, beginning at the coronal sulcus" and ending where the acroposthion begins. (Frederick Hodges, "Phimosis in Antiquity")
- posthitis
- Inflammation of the foreskin. Like any other inflammation, can be treated without surgery.
- prepuce
- See foreskin. The term "prepuce" is used more often than "foreskin" for the female equivalent, in spite of the derivation. (from L. prae, in front, and putium, penis)
- pr[a]eputial sac
- The cavity formed by the foreskin and the sulcus of the glans. Commonly described by circumcisionists as if it were a cesspit, it can be opened as easily as any other sack, and usually vanishes completely when the foreskin is fully retracted.
- pr[a]eputial space
- The space between the foreskin and the glans.
- pr[a]eputial sphincter
- The "drawstring" of the foreskin, formed of the dartos muscle.
- pr[a]eputial stenosis
- Narrowing of the foreskin. Replacing "phimosis" to describe inability to retract the foreskin in adulthood. May be treated (if any treatment is needed) without surgery. (L. praeputium = foreskin, Gk stenosis = narrowing)
- proximal (to)
- Nearer to the body. (opp. distal)
- psolos
- (Gk) Having the glans exposed, whether because the foreskin is short, retracted or missing. Considered obscene by the Greeks.
- raphe
- The "seam" up the underside of the penis (actually running all the way from the anus to the urinary meatus), where the urethra closed up before birth.
- ridged band
- A zone of corrugated tissue running from the frenulum, around the inside of the foreskin close to the preputial sphincter (and therefore is largely removed by even minimal circumcision) and back to the frenulum. It lies between the outer skin and the smooth band.It is richly endowed with nerves. Meissners corpuscles are concentrated in the peaks of the ridges. It was first described by Taylor as recently as 1996.
- root (n.)
- The part of the penis lying inside the pelvis, comprising about half its total length, by which it is attached to the body. It includes the two crura and the bulb.
- shaft (n.)
- The external body of the penis, comprising skin, dartos fascia, corpus spongiosum and corpora carvernosa and urethra, but not including the glans or foreskin.
- smegma
- A natural secretion of skin cells and oils that collects under the foreskin in both males and females. If allowed to grow stale, it may have a pungent aroma (commonly compared to cheese [males] or fish [females]), and has lubricant, pheromonal (sexual attractant) and perhaps bacteriostatic (bacteria-killing) functions. The quantity varies, but it is comparable to earwax. (Gk. = soap)
- smooth band
- The area of the foreskin between the ridged band and the sulcus. Although it is thrown into wrinkles in the flaccid penis, as shown, it smooths out before the ridged band on erection.
- smooth mucosa
- The tissue of the surface of the smooth band (but the terms smooth mucosa and smooth band are often used interchangably).
- synechia
- The membrane attaching the inner (mucosal) surface of the neonatal foreskin to the glans penis. It separates naturally (helped by masturbation) before adolescence. Also known as the balanopreputial membrane. Confusingly, "synechia" is also used to refer to skin-bridges.
- spermatorrhoea(US: spermatorrhea)
- Involuntary loss of semen, including during sleep (nocturnal emissions, "wet dreams"), in the 19th and early 20th centuries considered a harmful medical condition. Circumcision was performed to prevent it (though the victim might never know that that was the reason).
- sulcus
- The groove in the penile shaft behind the glans penis.
- tunica albuginea
- A cylindrical sheath of flexible but inelastic tissue, under the shaft-skin and enclosing the corpora cavernosa and spongiosum, which gives the erect penis its rigidity. It can be damaged by bending it when erect, literally breaking the penis. (L. = white tunic)
- Tysons glands
- Glands supposed to exist in the corona and secrete smegma. They were found in orang-outangs; they have not been confirmed in humans.
- urethra
- The tube running the length of the penis carrying urine and semen. (cf. the tubes from the kidneys to the bladder, the ureters)
- ventral
- Of the belly: in the case of the penis, on the underside when its owner is "in the Anatomical Position" - standing upright and with penis erect. Medical textbooks are silent about the disposition of the foreskin in the Anatomical Position. (opp. dorsal)
- Vater-Pacinian corpuscles
- Sensory nerve-endings. They comprise concentric membranes of connective tissue, like the layers of an onion, with the gaps between filled by a slimy gel. Movements or vibrations deform the layers, sending a nerve signal to the brain. These corpuscles are found in the clitoris, the male foreskin, and the fingertips, They are found in other mammals, and are particularly densely packed at the tip of an elephant's trunk.
- Zoon's balanitis
- Yet another excuse for circumcision. Zoon's balanitis is "an uncommon, benign, idiopathic inflammatory condition affecting uncircumcised males." It may be treated conservatively, according to Albertini JG, Holck DE, Farley MF in "Zoon's balanitis treated with Erbium:YAG laser ablation." Lasers Surg Med 2002;30(2):123-6.
SKINONYMS - SYNONYMS FOR "FORESKIN" etc
- aardvark
- (told by the Dixie Chicks to English TV host Graham Norton)
- blaengroen
- Welsh, blaen = first/foremost, croen -> groen = skin
- capullo
- (Spanish, = flower-bud) Also short for cascabillo, acorn-cup (and glans=acorn)
- carrot (intact penis)
- NZ slang of the 1960s. opp: mushroom
- Cavalier (intact male)
- UK Opp.: Roundhead
- cuero
- (Spanish: animal hide or pelt) used in Southern Texas (and presumably Mexico) often derogatory
- descapotable
- (Spanish = convertible) colloquial for penis, referring to the retractability of the foreskin
- forhud
- Danish and Norwegian, for = front, hud = skin
- förhud (o-diaresis)
- Swedish, för = front, hud = skin
- hatband
- "tighter than Uncle Dick's hatband" used in Southern Texas
- kranyaya
- Russian
- kirimata
- NZ Mäori, kiri = skin, mata = front (cf tehe = with exposed glans and ure haea = circum/superincised, ure = penis, haea = lacerated). NB kiri ure = (mod.) condom
- (lace) curtains
- Mainly US
- ngovi
- Swahili (the word also means "skin", "leather" "football" and "game of football"!)
- Oprah (!)
- Bantu
- Orlah
- Hebrew "barrier"
- peeper
- (NZ slang) Penis whose foreskin is short enough to expose some of the glans when flaccid.
Picture of peeper - prepuce
- from L. prae, in front, and putium, penis
- prepucio
- Spanish
- snozzle
- coined by HY, May 1997, as a friendlier, less clinical alternative
- tickle-tackle
- Apparently from the nautical euphemism tackle (=genitals). Used in the film East is East, negatively and apparently ad hoc, but with much to commend it.
- Vorhaut
- German, vor = fore / in front, Haut = skin
- voorhuid
- Dutch, voor = fore/in front, huid = skin
- Whickerbill
- Arkansas slang
- whistle (= intact penis)
- South Africa Opp.: cherry.
Related sites:
- Anatomy of the intact penis
- How the foreskin works, an animation
- Functions of the foreskin
- Glossary of Circumcision and Intactivism (formerly part of this glossary)
- Reasons not to circumcise
- Pictures at a Circumcision
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