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Although it was once claimed that the human [[foreskin ]] was filthy and harbored disease and infection, in reality the opposite is true. The [[foreskin]] is designed by nature to be self cleaning and to provide significant natural '''immunological and protective function''' against all types of infection, including HIV.
== The protective and hygienic function of the foreskin ==
The [[foreskin]], like the eyelid, also serves an important protective and hygienic function. The foreskin protects the delicate [[glans]] of the [[penis]] and puts the urethra at a distance form its environment, protecting it from foreign contaminants of all kinds while simultaneously shielding the penis from injury. It is a double fold of skin which offers two layers of protection.
At birth, the [[foreskin ]] is usually attached to the glans (head) of the penis by a [[synechia]], akin to how a fingernail is attached to a finger.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Deibert
|first=G.A.
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-15
}}</ref> The foreskin protects the infant glans penis from ammonia in diapers (nappies) and prevents meatal ulcer and [[meatal stenosis]].<ref>{{REFjournal |last=Gairdner |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Gairdner |etal=no |title=The fate of the foreskin: a study of circumcision |trans-title= |language= |journal=Br Med J |location= |date=1949-12-24 |volume=2 |issue= |pages=1433-7 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gairdner/ |quote= |pubmedID=15408299 |pubmedCID=2051968 |DOI=10.1136/bmj.2.4642.1433 |accessdate=2019-01-10}}</ref> <ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=R.S.
|accessdate=2020-01-09
|note=Jan-Feb 2006
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Upadhyay
|first=V
|author-link=
|last2=Hammodat
|first2=HM
|author2-link=
|last3=Pease
|first3=PW
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Post circumcision meatal stenosis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=N Z Med J
|location=
|date=1998-02-27
|volume=111
|issue=1060
|pages=57-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/upadhyay1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=9539919
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-01-10
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
The idea that the foreskin is "dirty" or "unclean" is a scientifically unfounded superstition. The intact penis is naturally clean and maintains a level of hygiene that is optimal when compared to a penis that has been altered by circumcision. <ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" />
In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw bleeding flesh, the circumcised penis needs much more care after circumcision. The surgically externalized glans is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe1997">{{REFjournal
|last3=Westbrook
|first3=K.C.
|url=httpshttp://www.ncbicircumstitions.nlm.nihcom/Langerhans.gov/pubmed/16828878html
|title=The distribution and density of Langerhans cells in the human prepuce: site of diminished immune response?
|journal=Isr J Med Sci