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}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb |url=http://med.stanford.edu/newborns/professional-education/circumcision.html |title=Neonatal Circumcision: An Audiovisual Primer |last= |first= |publisher=Stanford School of Medicine |website= |date= |accessdate=2019-10-01 |format= |quote=}}</ref> It has been noted that the wound where the frenulum was amputated is usually slower to heal than the wound where the [[foreskin ]] was amputated.
* [http://willywellbeing.com/ Willy Well-being]
→Pathology: Delete inappropriate reference.
[[File:Frenulum_IntactWiki.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Pictured: Frenulum in the human penis.]]
A '''frenulum''' (or '''frenum''', plural: '''frenula''' or '''frena''', from the Latin ''frēnulum'', meaning "little bridle") is a small fold of tissue that binds movable structures to non-movable structures in the body. In the human body, examples of frenula include the frenulum linguae, under the tongue, the frenulum labii superioris inside the upper lip, and the ''frenulum labii inferioris'' inside the lower lip. The word ''frenulum'' on its own is often used for the frenulum in the human [[penis]], which is an elastic band of tissue under the [[glans penis]] that connects to the [[foreskin]] to the vernal [[mucosa]], and helps contract the prepuce over the glans. This is sometimes colloquially known as the "banjo string".
The [[frenular artery]] passes though the frenulum.<ref name="damege1">{{REFweb
==Sensation and stimulation==
The frenulum and the associated tissue delta on the underside of the [[penis]] below the [[corona ]] has been described in sexuality textbooks as "very reactive" and "particularly responsive to touch that is light and soft." The “underside of the shaft of the penis, meaning the body below the corona” is a “source of distinct pleasure.”<ref name="hass1993">{{REFbook
|last=Hass
|first=K.
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref> Repeated stimulation of this structure will cause orgasm and ejaculation in some men. In men with spinal cord injury preventing sensations from reaching the brain, for example, the frenulum just below the [[glans ]] can be stimulated to produce orgasm and peri-ejaculatory response.<ref>{{REFweb
| quote=
| url=http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic425.htm
|accessdate=2021-03-11}}
</ref>
Cepeda-Emiliani et al (2023) state:
<blockquote>
One circumcision technique [91] has been proposed to protect
as much tissue as possible ventrally due to the sexual functions
attributed to this region. Concerningly and antithetically to the
former technique, the frenular area has been intentionally
targeted during [[adult circumcision]] by some urologists in
the belief that its total and permanent denervation using
monopolar current might be a definitive treatment for lifelong
premature ejaculation. These urologists concluded that
their circumcision technique resulted in “a consistent reduction
in penile sensitivity” and “is a strong weapon in the hands of
urological surgeons, which must be used very carefully, as its
effects on male sexuality can be devastating and irreversible
if performed in the wrong patient. Thus, the caveat must be
right circumcision in the right patient using the correct
surgical technique’”. To the extent that
this type of circumcision may impair sexual function by
denervating a neurologically permissive substrate through which
sexual sensation enters the central nervous system, we agree
with Jannini [93] that denervation of the frenular region is a
potentially dangerous intervention.<ref name="cepeda2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Gándara-Cortés
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Otero-Alén
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|last4=García
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|last5=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first5=
|init5=J
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=T
|author6-link=
|last7=Gallego
|first7=
|init7=R
|author7-link=
|last8=García-Caballero
|first8=
|init8=R
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Immunohistological study of the density and distribution of human penile neural tissue: gradient hypothesis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2023-05-02
|volume=35
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=286-305
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00561-9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35501394
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00561-9
|accessdate=2023-11-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Pathology==
It is possible for the frenulum to tear during sexual activities. The [[frenular artery]], a branch of the dorsal artery, may be severed, causing significant [[bleeding]].
In the event of [[frenulum breve]] or frenular chordee, or to ensure that the [[glans ]] can be freely and completely exposed, the frenulum may be partially or totally removed. It is also often removed in a [[circumcision]].<ref name="Griffin-Kroovand1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Griffin
|init=AS
|DOI=10.1542/peds.105.3.681
|accessdate=
Song et al. (2015) report that the frenulum may need to be lengthened after a [[circumcision ]] amputates [[skin]] tissue from the [[penis]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Song
|init=B
The frenulum may be missing in some males for a few reasons.
Rarely, boys are born without a frenulum. This condition causes no issues and permits unusually full complete retraction of the [[foreskin]].
It may be missing in men who were [[circumcised ]] at birth, as it is often crushed and cut away, or broken during infant [[circumcision]]. Men who are circumcised as adults may specify whether or not they wish to preserve their frenulum. The frenulum was reported to be cut in 26.7%, 20%, and 33.33% of [[circumcised ]] patients in various surveys.<ref name="Griffin-Kroovand1990"/><ref name="Gary2000"/>
Some men choose to have the frenulum removed as a form of treatment for [[frenulum breve]], a condition in which the frenulum of the penis is short and restricts the movement of the prepuce, which may or may not interfere with normal sexual activity. Yet, others may choose to have the frenulum removed purely out of cosmetic reasons.
[[File:Frenulum_comparison.jpg]]
Comparison of an [[intact ]] frenulum vs. the frenulum remnant on a [[circumcised ]] [[penis]]. Image used with permission of artist.
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Frenulum breve]]
* [[Frenuloplasty]]
* [[Phimosis]]
* [[Ridged band]]
|note=
}}
{{REF}}