Changes

The meatus is protected by the [[foreskin]] of the [[intact]] normal [[penis]]. When a boy has been [[circumcised]]and has lost the protection of his foreskin, the meatus is more likely to develop meatitis,<ref name="brenneman1921">{{REFjournal

}}</ref> meatal ulceration, <ref name="freud1947">{{REFjournal |last=Freud |first= |init=P |author-link= |etal=no |title=The ulcerated urethral meatus in male children. |trans-title= |language= |journal=J Pediatr |date=1947-08 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=131-41 |url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/freud1/ |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=20256409 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1016/s0022-3476(47)80098-8 |accessdate=2024-02-04}}</ref> and/or meatal stenosis. <ref>{{REFjournal |last=Upadhyay |first= |init=V |author-link= |last2=Hammodat |first2= |init2=HM |author2-link= |last3=Pease |first3= |init3=PW |author3-link= |etal=no |title=Post circumcision meatal stenosis: 12 years' experience |trans-title= |language= |journal=N Z Med J |location= |date=1998-02-27 |volume=111 |issue=1060 |article= |page= |pages=57-8 |url= |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=9539919 |pubmedCID= |DOI= |doi= |accessdate=2024-02-04}}</ref><ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal |last=Van Howe |init=RS |author-link=Robert S. Van Howe |title=Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting |journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila) |date=2006-01 |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=49-54 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6992015/Incidence_of_Meatal_Stenosis_following_Neonatal_Circumcision_in_a_Primary_Care_Setting |quote= |pubmedID=16429216 |pubmedCID= |DOI= |accessdate=2024-02-04 }}</ref> [[Foreskinned]] boys rarely, if ever, develop these issues.<ref name="vanhowe2006" />