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==Beneficial aspects of smegma==
Smegma contains natural [[skin]] oils that are beneficial to the health of the [[mucosa]] that covers the [[glans penis]] and the inside of the [[foreskin]]. The oil also has lubricating advantages.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wright
|first=Joyce
|init=J
|author-link=
|title=How smegma serves the penis
|journal=Sexology
|date=1970-09
|volume=37
|issue=2
|pages=50-3
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/wright1/
|accessdate=2020-06-21
}}</ref>
Smegma is usually washed away for cosmetic reasons. Excessive washing and use of soap inside the [[foreskin]] should be avoided.<ref name="birley1933" />
Relocate section.
[[Image:Female smegma.jpg|right|thumb|Smegma on a human [[vulva]].]]
'''Smegma''' is the name given to a flaky material that accumulates underneath the [[foreskin]] in males, and underneath the [[clitoral hood]] and within the labial folds in females. In males, it is composed of secretions of ectopic sebaceous glands in the [[foreskin]], mixed with secretions of the prostate, seminal vesicles, mucin from the urethral glands, and desquamated epithelial cells.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Parkash
|init=S
|DOI=10.1136/sti.69.5.400
|accessdate=2020-02-28
}}</ref>
==Beneficial aspects of smegma==
Smegma contains natural [[skin]] oils that are beneficial to the health of the [[mucosa]] that covers the [[glans penis]] and the inside of the [[foreskin]]. The oil also has lubricating advantages.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wright
|first=Joyce
|init=J
|author-link=
|title=How smegma serves the penis
|journal=Sexology
|date=1970-09
|volume=37
|issue=2
|pages=50-3
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/wright1/
|accessdate=2020-06-21
}}</ref>
Smegma is usually washed away for cosmetic reasons. Excessive washing and use of soap inside the [[foreskin]] should be avoided.<ref name="birley1933" />
== Smegma was falsely believed to be carcinogenic ==
[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Hodges (2006) concluded: "The purpose of the scientific method is to distinguish between wishful thinking, strongly held opinion, and provable fact. The smegma theory of disease, which began as wishful thinking on the part of circumcision zealots such as [[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Abraham Wolbarst]] and [[Abraham Ravich]], has evolved into irrefutable dogma, but as modern physicians, we need to recognize that, until proved otherwise, smegma is harmless."<ref name="vanhowe2006" />
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb