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A longer [[prepuce]] helps to keep out contaminants and pathogens.<ref name="fleiss1998" /> Lakshmanan & Parkash (1980) described the muscle fibers in the [[prepuce]] (known as the [[dartos]]), which contract to keep the prepuce snugly close to the [[glans penis]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Lakshmanan
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Parkash
|first2=
|init2=S
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Indian J Surg
|location=
|date=1980
|volume=44
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=134-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/lakshmanan/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
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}}</ref> The muscle fibers form a whorl at the tip to keep the tip of the [[foreskin]] and keep the preputial sac closed against the outside world and contamination with pathogens.<ref name="fleiss1998" />
Cold & Taylor (1999) described a healthy [[microbiome]] that lives within the preputial sac.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" /> They also reported that Langerhans cells are found in the mucosa of the preputial sac. [[Langerhans cells]] are part of the immunological defenses of the [[penis]].
De Witte et al. (2007) reported that Langerhans cells produce a substance named ''langerin''. The langerin offers protection against HIV infection:
{{Citation
|Title=Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells
|Text=Langerin prevents HIV-1 transmission by LCs. HIV-1 captured by Langerin was internalized into Birbeck granules and degraded. Langerin inhibited LC infection and this mechanism kept LCs refractory to HIV-1 transmission; inhibition of Langerin allowed LC infection and subsequent HIV-1 transmission. Notably, LCs also inhibited T-cell infection by viral clearance through Langerin. Thus Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 infection, and strategies to combat infection must enhance, preserve or, at the very least, not interfere with Langerin expression and function.
|Author=
|Source=
|ref=<ref>{{DeWitte etal 2007}}</ref>
}}
→Description: Create section.
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.1090570409
|accessdate=2023-05-23
}}</ref> so it cannot be [[Infection| infected]]. The preputial sac will remain closed for a variable number of years. Thorvaldsen & Meyhoff (2005) conducted a survey of 4000 young men in [[Denmark]]. They reported that the mean age of first foreskin retraction is 10.4 years in [[Denmark]].<ref name="Thorvaldsen">{{REFjournal |last=Thorvaldsen |init=MA |last2=Meyhoff |init2=H |title=Patologisk eller fysiologisk fimose? |trans-title=Pathological or physiological phimosis? |language=Danish |journal=Ugeskr Læger |volume=167 |issue=17 |pages=1858-1862 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/thorvaldsen1/ |quote= |pubmedID= |pubmedCID= |DOI= |date=2005 |accessdate=2025-03-06}}</ref> Non-retractile foreskin is the more common condition until about 10-11 years of age.
The preputial sac is lined with [[mucosa]] as is appropriate for an internal organ where moisture is present.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> [[Urine]] and other sources of moisture are not harmful to it.
}}</ref>, a natural, normal, benign, healthy, and beneficial product of the body, which will collect harmlessly in the preputial sac.
A longer [[prepuce]] helps to keep out contaminants and pathogens.<ref name="fleiss1998" /> Lakshmanan & Parkash (1980) described the muscle fibers in the [[prepuce]] (known as the [[dartos]]), which contract to keep the prepuce snugly close to the [[glans penis]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Lakshmanan
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Parkash
|first2=
|init2=S
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Indian J Surg
|location=
|date=1980
|volume=44
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=134-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/lakshmanan/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> The muscle fibers form a whorl at the tip to keep the tip of the [[foreskin]] and keep the preputial sac closed against the outside world and contamination with pathogens.<ref name="fleiss1998" />
Cold & Taylor (1999) described a healthy [[microbiome]] that lives within the preputial sac.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" /> They also reported that Langerhans cells are found in the mucosa of the preputial sac. [[Langerhans cells]] are part of the immunological defenses of the [[penis]].
De Witte et al. (2007) reported that Langerhans cells produce a substance named ''langerin''. The langerin offers protection against HIV infection:
{{Citation
|Title=Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells
|Text=Langerin prevents HIV-1 transmission by LCs. HIV-1 captured by Langerin was internalized into Birbeck granules and degraded. Langerin inhibited LC infection and this mechanism kept LCs refractory to HIV-1 transmission; inhibition of Langerin allowed LC infection and subsequent HIV-1 transmission. Notably, LCs also inhibited T-cell infection by viral clearance through Langerin. Thus Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 infection, and strategies to combat infection must enhance, preserve or, at the very least, not interfere with Langerin expression and function.
|Author=
|Source=
|ref=<ref>{{DeWitte etal 2007}}</ref>
}}
=== Sub-preputial moisture ===
A longer [[foreskin]] improves wetness in the preputial sac.<ref name="ofarrell2008">{{REFjournal
|last=O'Farrell
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=109-12
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/prakash/
|accessdate=2022-10-07
}}</ref> Moistness also may be maintained by [[transudation]].<ref name="cold-taylor1999" /> The preputial sac may also receive slippery [[pre-ejaculate]]. The sac may vary from very slightly moist to wet when one is aroused.
=== Foreskin fragrance ===
The [[foreskin]] produces [[pheromone| pheromones]] that are likely to be present in the preputial sac.<ref name="fleiss1998" /> Many [[foreskinned]] men report a pleasant musky fragrance<ref name="vocabulary2024">{{REFweb