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# Before circumcision surgery can commence, the surgeon must first forcibly separate these two highly innervated body parts in an exquisitely painful procedure by the passage of forcing a blunt probe between the two parts to destroy, rip and tear the [[synechia]] apart.<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> Nervous tissue requires a large blood supply, so the foreskin is richly vascular vascularized with many blood vessels,<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{REFjournal

Lander ''et al''. (1997) conducted a comparison of no neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision without anesthesia (current practice in 1997), ring block, dorsal penile nerve block, and a topical eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA).  With no anesthesia, the infants cried continuously. Newborns in the untreated placebo group exhibited homogeneous responses that consisted of sustained elevation of heart rate and high pitched cry throughout the circumcision and following. Two newborns in the placebo group became ill following circumcision (choking and apnea). EMLA was the least effective pain control. Dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) was more effective, and ring block was the most effective. The authors reported "[w]ithout exception, newborns in this study who did not receive an analgesic suffered great distress during and following the circumcision, and they were exposed to unnecessary risk (from choking or apnea)." The authors were so alarmed that they terminated the no anesthesia arm of the study early. None of the analgesic measures tested provided total pain relief. Any infant boy who undergoes neonatal circumcision will experience some pain and trauma. Boys who escape circumcision would have no pain or trauma. The author concluded that circumcision should be performed with anesthetic.<ref name="lander1997">{{REFjournal

}}</ref>  With no anesthesia, the infants screamed continuously. Newborns in the untreated placebo group exhibited homogeneous responses that consisted of sustained elevation of heart rate and high pitched cry throughout the circumcision and following. Two newborns in the placebo group became ill following circumcision (choking and apnea). One experienced projectile vomiting.<ref name="lander1997" /> EMLA was the least effective pain control. Dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB) was more effective, and ring block was the most effective. The authors reported "[w]ithout exception, newborns in this study who did not receive an analgesic suffered great distress during and following the circumcision, and they were exposed to unnecessary risk (from choking or apnea)." The authors were so alarmed that they terminated the no anesthesia arm of the study early.<ref name="lander1997" />None of the analgesic measures tested provided total pain relief. Any infant boy who undergoes neonatal circumcision will experience some pain and trauma. Boys who escape circumcision would have no pain or trauma. The authors concluded that circumcision should be performed with ''anesthetic'', however the text makes clear that they meant ''analgesia'', since full anesthesia is unsafe for neonates.<ref name="lander1997" />

Circumcision is an invasive cutting operationand amputation. Like other invasive operations, post-surgical pain persists after the surgery for days or weeks. Infant boys will not receive effective analgesia because of their young age makes such drugs dangerous.

Howard, Howard, & Weitzman ''et al''. (1994) studied male infants after their neonatal circumcision. They recorded the comfort scores of the infants at numerous periods after circumcision. They also observed and recorded feeding behavior.

There is now substantial evidence that infant circumcision causes [[Posttraumatic stress disorder| post traumatic stress disorder]]̪(PTSD). Memory Preverbal memory starts to function before birth and continues to function in the newborn period,<ref>{{REFjournal

Taddio & colleagues (1995)(1997) studied the effect of neonatal circumcision on the behavior of boys after surgery and at the time of vaccination. It was found that circumcised boys had a higher pain response at time of vaccination sixth months later as compared with intact boys.,<ref name="taddio"1995">{{REFjournal

}}</ref>showing that the nervous system had been permanently sensitized to heightened pain sensation.

John Rhinehart, M. D., a clinical psychiatrist, reported finding numerous cases of PTSD in his adult male patients secondary pursuant to infant circumcision.<ref>{{REFjournal

Fitzgerald & Walker (2003) hypothesized argued that extreme pain (such as that caused by circumcision) may alter developing nervous tissue in the very young.<ref>{{REFbook

Flechsig's bizarre opinion was not questioned until the 1970s. Several lines empirical of research carried out in the 1970s suggested that infants do can in fact feel intense pain.

* Anders ''et al''. (1970) showed that measurement of serum cortisol is a useful indicator of pain for psychological investigation in infancy.<ref name="anders1970">{{REFjournal

* Richards, Bernal & Brackbill (1976) discovered reported behavioral differences between American boys (circumcised) and British boys (genitally intact).<ref name="richards1976">{{REFjournal

* Rawlings, Miller & Engel (1980) showed that as the pain of circumcision increased, oxygenation of the skin decreased.<ref name="rawlings1980">{{REFjournal

* Gunnar ''et al''. (1981) recorded serum cortisol and behavior state through throughout the unanesthetized, non-therapeutic circumcision process. Serum cortisol levels and behavior state behavioral distress were found to be closely related. The authors stated:

The So great was Flechsig's influence, the authors were still unwilling to use the word ''pain'' and substituted the word ''stress''. <ref>{{REFjournal

Operation Surgical operation on infants without anesthesia continued for well over a century, at least until 1987, when the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] was forced to issue a CYA statement that called for the use of anesthesia.<ref>{{REFjournal

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that totally demolished Flechsig's ridiculous claims and conclusively proved that newborn infants feel are capable of feeling intense pain. After publication of this paper, no doubt about pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:

<i>Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human fetus, pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. <u>Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects.</u> Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.</i><ref name="anand1987" /></blockquote></i>

Gunnar ''et al''. (1988) examined the association between behavioral distress and adrenocortical activity. It was found that differences in behavioral distress did not reliably the lewel level of adrenocortical activity. Moreover, it was found that while non-nutritive sucking reduces crying it did not reduce the adrenocortical response to the adverse stimulation stressful stimulus of circumcision pain.<ref name="gunnar1988">{{REFjournal

Although by 1989 it was totally clear that infant boys infants can feel intense pain, the 1989 American Academy of Pediatrics Circumcision Task Force, under the leadership of the infamous [[Edgar J. Schoen]], M. D., declined to recommend the use of analgesics for non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision, thereby condemning million of newborn baby boys to a painful, stressful circumcision.<ref>{{REFjournal