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→Anatomy and development of the male genital organ
The '''penis''' is the external male organ of urination and copulation.<ref name="farlex2003">{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/penis
|archived=
|title=penis
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|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex.
|website=
|date=2003
|accessdate=2022-05-23
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}}</ref> The penis is also known as the '''phallus'''.
The body of the penis consists of three cylindrical-shaped masses of erectile tissue which run the length of the penis. Two of the masses lie alongside each other and end behind the head of the penis. The third mass lies underneath them. This latter mass contains the [[urethra]]. The penis terminates in an oval or cone-shaped body, the glans penis, which contains the exterior opening of the urethra.<ref name="farlex2003" />
The [[glans penis]] is covered by a loose skin, the [[foreskin]] or prepuce, which enables it to expand freely during erection. The skin ends just behind the glans penis and folds forward to cover it, this forming the [[preputial sac]]. The inner surface of the foreskin contains glands that secrete a lubricating fluid called [[smegma]] which makes it easy for the penis to expand and retract past the foreskin.
==Parts==
Up to the ninth week of pregnancy, both male and female genital organs develop identically. Genital tubercle, labioscrotal swelling, genital fold and urogenital membrane have developed.
Only after that do the different external features emergein the [[fetus]]. Between the 11th and 17th week the genital tubercle becomes the [[clitoris]] in females, and the glans in males.
In girls, the genital fold remains open, in boys it grows together. It transforms into the inner labia and the clitoral hood in girls, and into the [[foreskin]] in boys. The labioscrotal swelling becomes the outer labia and scrotum respectively.
The growing together of the folds results in the seam that runs from the underside of the scrotum and the penile shaft up to the tip of the foreskin. The penis now consists of the shaft containing the erectile tissue, with the glans at the top. The shaft is surrounded by the [[shaft skin]] which, however, is not knitted to it. This mobility, combined with the stretching capabilities of the [[skin]], allows for the growth in dimension of the penis during an [[erection]]. During an [[erection ]] the erectile tissue fills with blood, giving the penis its stiffness and enlarged size.
In the area of the [[glans]] the [[shaft skin]] transitions into the outer layer of the foreskin, which extends past the tip of the glans. Parallel to that runs the inner layer of the foreskin. It is attached behind the rim of the glans, and runs between the glans and the outer foreskin layer, also past the tip of the glans. At the tip, the inner and outer foreskin layers are joined together.
|issue=
|pages=134-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/wright2/
|quote=The normal prepuce should be left alone, with no attempt to retract it until the boy is able to do it himself, at the earliest at three years of age.
|pubmedID=8295581
''Tightness: Foreskin tightness hampering retraction''</blockquote>
Thorvaldsen & Meyhoff (2005) conducted a survey of 4000 young men in [[Denmark]]. They report that the mean age of first foreskin retraction is 10.4 years in [[Denmark]].<ref name="ThorvaldsenThorvaldsen2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Thorvaldsen
|init=MA
[[Category:Genital]]
[[Category:Penile anatomy]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[de:Penis]]