17,111
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Add structure section.
The nature of the prepuce or foreskin, which is amputated and destroyed by circumcision, must be considered and fully understood in any discussion of male [[circumcision]].<refname="cold-taylor1999>{{REFjournal
|last=Cold
|first=CJ
|author-link=
|coauthorslast2=Taylor |first2=JR
|title=The prepuce
|trans-title=
| last=Purpura
| first=V
| coauthorslast2=Bondioli |first2=E, |author2-link= |last3=Cunningham |first3=EJ, ''et al''. |author3-link= |etal=yes
| title=The development of a decellularized extracellular matrix–based biomaterial scaffold derived from human foreskin for the purpose of foreskin reconstruction in circumcised males
| journal=Journal of Tissue Engineering
----
==Structure==
The foreskin (also known as the prepuce) is the double-layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, skin, and mucous membrane part of the penis that covers and protects the glans penis and the urinary meatus.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" /> The foreskin comprises more than fifty percent of the epithelium of the penis.<ref name="taylor1996>{{REFjournal
|last=Taylor
|first=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Lockwood
|first2=AP
|author2-link=
|last3=Taylor
|first3=AJ
|author3-link=
|last4=
|first4=
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=The prepuce: specialized mucosa of the penis and its loss to circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Brit J Urol
|date=1996
|volume=77
|issue=
|pages=291-5
|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1464-410X.1996.85023.x/full
|quote=
|pubmedID=8800902
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410X.1996.85023.x
|accessdate=2019-10-14
}}</ref>
The foreskin is the movable part of the penis. The foreskin is not attached to the underlying structure and is free to glide back and forth.<ref name="lakshmanan-prakash1980">{{REFjournal
|last=Lakshmanan
|first=S
|author-link=
|last2=Prakash
|first2=S
|author2-link=
|last3=
|first3=
|author3-link=
|last4=
|first4=
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function
|trans-title=
|language=
|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=
}}</ref> The gliding action reduces the friction of intercourse and helps to prevent abrasions, while conserving vaginal lubrication and moisture.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Warren
|first=J
|author-link=
|last2=Bigelow
|first2=J
|author2-link=
|last3=
|first3=
|author3-link=
|last4=
|first4=
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=The case against circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Brit J Sex Med
|date=1994 Sept/Oct
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/warren2/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=6-8
}}</ref>
The epithelium of the outer layer of the foreskin is true skin while the epithelium of the inner layer is mucosal membrane. There is a mucocutaneous boundary at the tip of the foreskin. The mucocutaneous junction is a specific erogenous zone.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Winkelmann
|first=RK
|author-link=
|last2=
|first2=
|author2-link=
|last3=
|first3=
|author3-link=
|last4=
|first4=
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=The erogenous zones: their nerve supply and significance
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Mayo Clin Proc
|date=1959-01-21
|volume=34
|issue=3
|pages=39-47
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/winkelmann/
|quote=
|pubmedID=13645790
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-14
}}</ref>
The layer of dartos muscle is contained within the foreskin. The [[dartos]] muscle keeps the foreskin snugly against the glans. The fibers of the dartos muscle form a whorl at the tip that functions as a sphincter. The sphincter opens to allow urine to flow out, but closes to protect the penis from foreign matter, contaminants, and pathogens.<ref name="lakshmanan-prakash1980 " /> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Jefferson
|first=
|author-link=
|last2=
|first2=
|author2-link=
|last3=
|first3=
|author3-link=
|last4=
|first4=
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=The peripenic muscle; some observations on the anatomy of phimosis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics (Chicago)
|date=1916
|volume=23
|issue=2
|pages=177-81
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/jefferson/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-14
}}</ref>
The [[ridged band]] area is found at the mucocutaneous junction. The ridged band area is characterized by rete ridges with Meissner’s corpuscles in the ridges.<ref name="taylor1996" />
''The following content is part of the [[Circumpendium]].''
| pubmedCID=
| DOI=
| accessdate=2019-10-14
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{REFjournal
| last=Fleiss
| DOI=10.1136/sti.74.5.364
| accessdate=2019-09-29
}}</ref> Indian scientists have shown that the subpreputial moisture contains lytic material which has an antibacterial and antiviral effect.<ref>{{REFjournal | lastname=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}}<prakash1980" /ref> The natural oils lubricate, moisten and protect the mucous membranes of both the glans and the inner foreskin layer.<ref name = "prakash1" /> 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>
The foreskin serves as a pathway for many significant veins. In addition the foreskin is saturated with very many nerve endings and tactile corpuscles, the same receptors that exist in the fingertips. The enormous density of nerves and mechanoreceptors make the foreskin the most sensitive part of the body, approximately 10 times more sensitive than the fingertips. This also distinguishes the human penis from those of other mammals, which in contrast have the main concentration of nerves in the glans, and not in the foreskin.