Changes

It is well established that boys are born with the inner [[foreskin]] fused with the underlying [[glans penis]] by a common membrane to which both parts are fused. The membrane, which is called the <i>balanopreputial lamina</i>, is common to both parts, so retraction of the boy's foreskin is prevented by nature. There is good reason for this, since the [[foreskin]] provides protection to the [[penis]] while in the diaper, which usually contains feces, urine, and ammonia. Boys with a protective foreskin do not develop [[synechiameatal stenosis]]. The fusion of the balanopreputial lamina gradually breaks down over a widely variable period of years, so the foreskin can be retracted. Thorvaldsen & Meyhoff (2005) reported the mean age of first foreskin retraction to be 10.4 years.<ref name="thorvaldsen2005">{{REFjournal |last=Thorvaldsen |init=MA |last2=Meyhoff |init2=H |title=Patologisk eller fysiologisk fimose? |trans-title=Pathological or physiological phimosis? |language=Danish |journal=Ugeskr Læger |volume=167 |issue=17 |pages=1858-1862 |url=https://www.cirp.org/library/normal/thorvaldsen1/ |quote= |pubmedID= |pubmedCID= |DOI= |date=2005 |accessdate=2025-12-03}}</ref>