Foreskin: Difference between revisions
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}}</ref></blockquote> | }}</ref></blockquote> | ||
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
[[Evolution of the foreskin]] over hundreds of thousands of years by natural selection provided better fitness for survival.<ref>{{REFbook | [[Evolution of the foreskin]] over hundreds of thousands of years by natural selection provided better fitness for survival.<ref name="darwin1859">{{REFbook | ||
|last=Darwin | |last=Darwin | ||
|first=Charles | |first=Charles | ||
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|accessdate=2024-12-18 | |accessdate=2024-12-18 | ||
|note= | |note= | ||
}}</ref> Evolution provided protective functions that protect the [[penis]] from [[trauma]], [[infection]],<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"> and also provided functions that promote reproduction.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" /> | }}</ref> Evolution provided protective functions that protect the [[penis]] from [[trauma]], [[infection]],<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"></ref> and also provided functions that promote reproduction.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" /> | ||
== Structure == | == Structure == | ||
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The foreskin is considered to have three parts: | The foreskin is considered to have three parts: | ||
* The outer foreskin which is | * The outer foreskin which is covered with true [[skin]]. | ||
* The inner foreskin and [[ridged band]] which is covered with mucosal membrane. ([[Mucosa]]) | * The inner foreskin and [[ridged band]] which is covered with mucosal membrane. ([[Mucosa]]) | ||
* The [[frenulum]] which connects the foreskin to the [[glans penis]] and usually limits retraction. | * The [[frenulum]] which connects the foreskin to the [[glans penis]] and usually limits retraction. | ||
The inner and outer adult foreskin together contain about 15 square inches of skin. | The inner and outer adult foreskin together contain about 15 square inches of skin. | ||
The foreskin is <i>not</i> redundant tissue.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal | |||
|last=Andersen-Giberson | |||
|init=D | |||
|author-link=Dale Andersen | |||
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016 | |||
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework | |||
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses | |||
|date=2025-12 | |||
|volume=10 | |||
|issue=2 | |||
|pages=1-37 | |||
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016 | |||
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786 | |||
|accessdate=2026-03-12 | |||
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens. | |||
|format=PDF | |||
|accessdate=2026-03-12 | |||
}}</ref> | |||
===Foreskin in infancy and childhood=== | ===Foreskin in infancy and childhood=== | ||
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The foreskin may be retractable or non-retractable. Most men have a retractable foreskin, but about two to five percent have a longer, tighter, non-retractable foreskin, which is a normal variant. | The foreskin may be retractable or non-retractable. Most men have a retractable foreskin, but about two to five percent have a longer, tighter, non-retractable foreskin, which is a normal variant. | ||
The foreskin (also known as the ''prepuce'') is the layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, [[skin]], and [[Preputial mucosa|mucous membrane]] part of the [[penis]] that covers and protects the [[glans penis]] and the urinary meatus.<ref name="cold-taylor1999"/> There are four layers of tissue in the foreskin. The top layer is either epidermis in the outer foreskin or [[mucosa]], in the inner foreskin. The second layer is the lamina propria. The third layer is the [[dartos]]. The fourth layer is the dermis. It is normal for the foreskin to become darker in color than the rest of one's body after [[puberty]]. This condition is called hyperpigmentation. | The foreskin (also known as the ''prepuce'') is the layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, [[skin]], and [[Preputial mucosa|mucous membrane]] part of the [[penis]] that covers and protects the [[glans penis]] and the urinary meatus.<ref name="cold-taylor1999"/> There are four layers of tissue in the foreskin. The top layer is either epidermis in the outer foreskin or [[mucosa]], in the inner foreskin. The second layer is the lamina propria. The third layer is the [[dartos]]. The fourth layer is the dermis. | ||
It is normal for the foreskin to become darker in color than the rest of one's body after [[puberty]]. This condition is called hyperpigmentation. | |||
The adult foreskin measures about 3 inches by 5 inches or [[The Foreskin: 15 Square Inches of Erogenous Tissue| 15 square inches]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> The foreskin creates the [[preputial sac]]. The two foreskin layers provide a [[skin]] reserve. When the penis becomes erect, the foreskin may wholly or partially unfold to provide the necessary [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the penis during [[erection]]. | The adult foreskin measures about 3 inches by 5 inches or [[The Foreskin: 15 Square Inches of Erogenous Tissue| 15 square inches]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> The foreskin creates the [[preputial sac]]. The two foreskin layers provide a [[skin]] reserve. When the penis becomes erect, the foreskin may wholly or partially unfold to provide the necessary [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the penis during [[erection]]. | ||
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<i>See [[Development_of_retractable_foreskin#Adult_foreskin| Adult foreskin]].</i> | <i>See [[Development_of_retractable_foreskin#Adult_foreskin| Adult foreskin]].</i> | ||
==Physiological functions== | ==Physiological functions of the foreskin== | ||
Antique research by Alfred Kinsey (1948)<ref>{{REFbook | Antique research by Alfred Kinsey (1948)<ref>{{REFbook | ||
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|accessdate=2025-07-31 | |accessdate=2025-07-31 | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref> | ||
Many [[foreskinned]] men find the functions of their foreskin to be very endearing. | |||
== Sexual behavior == | == Sexual behavior == | ||
The foreskin is a source of comfort to [[foreskinned]] men that is not available to [[circumcised]] men. | The foreskin is a source of [[Body pleasure| comfort]] to [[foreskinned]] men that is not available to [[circumcised]] men. | ||
Laumann et al. (1997) reported that men who lack a foreskin "engage in a somewhat more elaborated set of sexual practices than do men who are not [[circumcised]]. For each of the practices examined, lifetime experience of various forms of oral and anal sex and [[masturbation]] frequency in the past year, [[circumcised]] men engaged in these behaviors at greater rates. The difference between [[circumcised]] men was greatest for [[masturbation]] — ironically, a practice that [[circumcision]] was once thought to limit. A total of 47% of circumcised men reported masturbating at least once a month vs 34% for their [[uncircumcised]] peers."<ref name="laumann1997>{{REFjournal | Laumann et al. (1997) reported that men who lack a foreskin "engage in a somewhat more elaborated set of sexual practices than do men who are not [[circumcised]]. For each of the practices examined, lifetime experience of various forms of oral and anal sex and [[masturbation]] frequency in the past year, [[circumcised]] men engaged in these behaviors at greater rates. The difference between [[circumcised]] men was greatest for [[masturbation]] — ironically, a practice that [[circumcision]] was once thought to limit. A total of 47% of circumcised men reported masturbating at least once a month vs 34% for their [[uncircumcised]] peers."<ref name="laumann1997>{{REFjournal | ||
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* [[Gliding action]] | * [[Gliding action]] | ||
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]] | * [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]] | ||
* [[Jojoba]] | |||
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]] | * [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]] | ||
* [[Long foreskins]] | * [[Long foreskins]] | ||
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|date=2025-07-03 | |date=2025-07-03 | ||
|accessdate=2025-09-06 | |accessdate=2025-09-06 | ||
}} | |||
* {{REFweb | |||
|url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23175-foreskin | |||
|title=Foreskin | |||
|last=Anonymous | |||
|publisher=Cleveland Clinic | |||
|date=2025-08-04 | |||
|accessdate=2026-04-27 | |||
}} | }} | ||
* {{REFweb | * {{REFweb | ||
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|date=2005-12-27 | |date=2005-12-27 | ||
|accessdate=2025-12-29 | |accessdate=2025-12-29 | ||
}} | |||
* {{REFweb | |||
|url=https://www.foreskin.day/factsandfallacies.html | |||
|title=Foreskin Facts and Phallacies | |||
|last=Anonymous | |||
|first= | |||
|init= | |||
|author-link= | |||
|publisher=Intact America | |||
|date=2026-04-04 | |||
|accessdate=2026-04-04 | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{REF}} | {{REF}} | ||