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wikify clitoris
{{GraphicWarning}}
[[File:Clitoris_outer_anatomy.png|thumb|Outer anatomy of [[clitoris]]]]
[[File:Clitoral hood.jpg|thumb|A photograph of a human vulva with a labeled clitoral hood]]
{{WikipediaQuote|URL=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoral_hood|title=Clitoral Hood}}
<blockquote>
In female human anatomy, the '''clitoral hood''' (also called '''preputium clitoridis''' and '''clitoral prepuce''') is a fold of [[skin]] that surrounds and protects the [[clitoral glans|glans]] of the [[clitoris]]; it also covers the external shaft of the [[clitoris]], develops as part of the [[labia minora]] and is [[homology (biology)|homologous]] with the [[foreskin]] (equally called ''prepuce'') in [[Sex organ|male genitals]].<ref name="Sloane">{{REFbook
|first=Ethel
|last=Sloane
==Development and variation==
The clitoral hood is formed during the [[Fetus|fetal]] stage by the cellular lamella.<ref name="Cold and Taylor"/> The cellular lamella grows down on the [[dorsal side]] of the [[clitoris ]] and is eventually fused with the [[clitoris]]. The clitoral hood is formed from the same tissues that form the foreskin in human males.
The clitoral hood varies in the size, shape, thickness, and other aesthetic areas. Some women have large clitoral hoods that completely cover the clitoral glans. Some of these can be retracted to expose the clitoral glans, such as for hygiene purposes or for pleasure; others do not retract. Other women have smaller hoods that do not cover the full length of the clitoral glans, leaving the clitoral glans exposed all the time. Sticky bands of tissue called ''adhesions'' can form between the hood and the glans; these stick the hood onto the glans so the hood cannot be pulled back to expose the glans, and, as in the male, strongly scented [[smegma]] can accumulate.