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→Keratin as "Protection": Add text.
It was hypothesized in the past that the layers of keratin resulting from circumcision provided a barrier of protection against sexually transmitted diseases. In 1986, [[Aaron J. Fink]] invented the idea that circumcision could prevent the transmission of HIV, arguing that the hard and toughened glans of the circumcised male resisted infection, while the soft and sensitive foreskin and glans mucosa of the intact male were ports of entry.<ref>Fink, Aaron J. "A possible Explanation for Heterosexual Male Infection with AIDS." ''New England Journal of Medicine'' 315, 18 (1986): 1167</ref>
Recent studies have shown this hypothesis to be false. One study found that there is "no difference between the keratinization of the inner and outer aspects of the adult male foreskin," and that "keratin layers alone were unlikely to explain why uncircumcised men are at higher risk for HIV infection, however keratinization of the glans penis was not measured."<ref>{{REFjournal
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