Changes

The foreskin covers the glans, thus protecting it from pollutants, friction, injury and drying out. It consists of two superimposed layers, which are only joined together at the very end. The [[ridged band]] is located just inside the tip of the foreskin.

While the outer foreskin layer is an extension of the penile shaft skin, the inner foreskin layer, which lies flat against the glans, is a mucous membrane. The inner layer is an extraordinarily complex tissue. It contains apocrine glands which produce Cathepsin B, lysozymes, chymotrypsin, neutrophil elastase, cytokines and pheromones such as androsterone. Indian scientists have shown that the subpreputial moisture contains lytic material which has an antibacterial and antiviral effect. <ref>{{REFjournal | last=Lakshmanan | first=S | coauthors=Prakash S | title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function | journal=Indian J Surg | date=1980 | volume=44 | issue= | pages=134-7 | url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/lakshmanan/ | quote= | pubmedID= | pubmedCID= | DOI= | accessdate=2019-09-29}}</ref> The natural oils lubricate, moisten and protect the mucous membranes of both the glans and the inner foreskin layer. The tip of the foreskin is supplied with ample amounts of blood through important blood vessels.<ref>Dr.med Wolfram Hartmann, Stellungnahme zur Anhörung am 26. November 2012 im Rechtsausschuss des Bundestages</ref>