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|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2022-08-11
}}</ref> in reality the opposite is true. The [[foreskin]] is designed by nature to be self cleaning and to provide significant natural '''immunological and protective function''' against all types of [[infection]], including [[HIV]].
== The protective and hygienic function of the foreskin ==
The [[foreskin]], like the eyelid, also serves an important protective and hygienic function. The foreskin protects the delicate [[glans]] of the [[penis]] and puts the [[urethra]] at a distance from its environment, protecting it from foreign contaminants and pathogens of all kinds while simultaneously shielding the [[penis]] from injury. It is a double fold of [[skin]] which offers two layers of protection to prevent [[keratinization]] and maintain sensitivity.
At birth, the [[foreskin]] is usually attached to the glans (head) of the penis by a [[synechia]], akin to how a fingernail is attached to a finger.<ref>{{REFjournal
|pages=31-36
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> They are also present in the eye lid eyelid and perform the same function in both places. They secrete the oils necessary to keep the [[glans ]] surface soft, moist, smooth, warm, sensitive, and with a healthy glistening red or purple color. This moisturizer also maintains PH balance, and optimal cleanliness. This is required to keep the surface of the glans healthy and clean via the cleaning effects of mucous secretions. Again, this function is analogous to the eye lid. The [[glans penis]] is meant to be an internal organ covered and protected from the outside world.
In the genitally [[intact]] [[penis]] the [[urine]] stream flushes out the [[urethra]] and [[foreskin]] of foreign microbes. In healthy individuals, [[urine]] is sterile and has a disinfectant quality. Researchers have demonstrated that the swirling action of [[urine]] as it rushes through the foreskin flushes it out effortlessly and naturally.<ref name="parkash-jeykumar1973">{{REFjournal
}}</ref>
Though [[urine]] passes through the [[foreskin]] every day, the inner foreskin is remarkably free of urea — a by-product of liver metabolism that is secreted in [[urine]]. Studies demonstrate that washings from the foreskin are rich in fructose, acid phosphatase, and mucin, but never urea. It appears that the secretions of [[seminal vesicles]], prostate, and [[urethra]]l mucous glands, collectively or individually, keep the foreskin clear and clean as well.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Parkash
|init=S
The idea that the foreskin is "dirty" or "unclean" is a scientifically unfounded superstition. The [[intact]] [[penis]] is naturally clean and maintains a level of hygiene that is optimal when compared to a [[penis]] that has been altered by [[circumcision]].<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" />
In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized glans is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
== The immunological function of the foreskin ==
The foreskin's inner fold and the [[glans ]] of the penis are comprised of [[Preputial mucosa|mucous membrane]] tissue. These are also present in your eyes, mouth, and all other bodily orifices including the female genitals. These are the first line of immunological defense for the body's orifices. These mucous membranes perform many immunological and hygienic functions.
Certain components such as [[Langerhans cells]],<ref>{{REFjournal
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> which is a very important non-antibody protein that generates immune response when in contact with specific agents. Plasma cells which increase in number in response to pathogens levels, secrete immunoglobulin.<ref name="flower1983"/>
It is also very important to note that [[Langerhans cells]] that are present in the [[foreskin ]] produce ''Langerin'', a substance that has been proven to kill human immunodeficency virus ([[HIV]]) on contact.<ref>{{DeWitte etal 2007}}</ref>
All of these function to sequester and “digest” foreign pathogens. All these substances play an important role in protecting the penis from viral and bacterial pathogens. The immunological functions of the human prepuce have been extensively documented by respected researchers for quite some time.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" />