Changes

The '''preputial mucosa''' of the [[penis]] is the epithelium of the inside of the prepuce, or [[foreskin]]. To differentiate it from the cutaneous skin of the outside of the [[Foreskin|prepuce]], it is sometimes referred to as the '''inner mucosa'''. It starts at the [[ridged band]] of the [[Foreskin|prepuce]] and continues to the coronal sulcus (groove behind the [[glans penis]]), where it meets the epithelium of the glans and penile shaft.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{REFjournal

|last=Cold

|author-link=

|last2=Taylor

|author2-link=John R. Taylor

|title=The prepuce

}}</ref> The preputial mucosa is devoid of hair, as is the cutaneous surface.<ref name="taylor1996">{{REFjournal

|last=Taylor

|author-link=John R. Taylor

|last2=Lockwood

|author2-link=

|last3=Taylor

|title=The prepuce: specialized mucosa of the penis and its loss to circumcision

|journal=Brit J Urol

Fleiss ''et al''. (1998) report the inner mucosa contains apocrine glands, which secrete cathepsin B, lysozyme, chymotrypsin, neutrophil elastase, and hormones such as androsterone. The first four substances have protective immunological functions.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{REFjournal

|last=Fleiss

|author-link=Paul M. Fleiss

|last2=Hodges

|author2-link=Frederick M. Hodges

|last3=Van Howe

|author3-link=Robert S. Van Howe

|title=Immunological functions of the human prepuce