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}}</ref> The penis is also known as the '''phallus'''.
The body of the penis consists of three cylindrical-shaped masses of erectile tissue which run the length of the penis. Two of the masses lie alongside each other and end behind the head of the penis. The third mass lies underneath them. This latter mass contains the [[urethra]]. The penis terminates in an oval or cone-shaped body, the [[glans penis]], which contains the exterior opening of the [[urethra]].<ref name="farlex2003" />
The [[glans penis]] is covered by a loose skin, the [[foreskin]] or prepuce, which enables it to expand freely during [[erection]]. The skin ends just behind the glans penis and folds forward to cover it, this forming the [[preputial sac]]. The inner surface of the foreskin contains glands that secrete a lubricating fluid called that mixes with exfoliated tissue to form [[smegma]] which makes it easy for the penis to expand and retract past the foreskin.
==Parts==
[[File:Circumpendium-2-penis-1-English.jpg|center|400px]]
Like the [[shaft skin]], the foreskin layers are neither fused to the penis, nor to each other, but are moveable against each other. This enables the foreskin to be retracted all the way past the glansuntil it is stopped by the [[frenulum]].
[[File:Circumpendium-2-penis-2-English.jpg|center|400px]]
At the point time of birth, the development of the external male genital organs is not completely finished. At this stage, the foreskin and glans share an epithelium (mucous layer, the balano-preputial membrane) that fuses the two together. It serves to protect the [[glans ]] during infancy, and dissolves as the child develops. Premature forcible [[retraction of the foreskin]] will tear this membrane, causing great pain and injury to the boy, who suffers this abuse. The child, himself, should be the first person to retract his foreskin.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wright
|init=JE
Only then the [[foreskin]] can be retracted. The age at which this occurs is subject to the child's individual development. If the foreskin is retracted prematurely, before it has fully separated, that can result in painful tears and infections.
The widening of the [[foreskin ]] also depends on age. A child's foreskin may be too tight to be retracted all the way past the glans, even though it has already completely separated from the glans. This early foreskin tightness, frequently confused with ([[phimosis]]), is a normal stage of development and vanishes with increasing age in most boys.
A study by the Danish paediatrician and school doctor, [[Jakob Øster]], of 9,545 examinations of pupils, published in 1968, led to the following results<ref>{{OesterJ 1968}}</ref>: