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Foreskin
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==Sensory functions==
Nature designed the foreskin to be an erogenous sensory organ. The foreskin has a layer of muscle called the [[dartos]] muscle sheath that provides the foreskin with elasticity, flexibility, and stretchiness. There is a mucocutaneous region at the tip of the foreskin where outer skin changes to inner mucosa. Winklemann (1959) identified the foreskin as a ''specific erogenous zone'' (meaning an area of acute erogenous sensation). Winklemann reported rete ridges in the foreskin with nerves set close to the surface with closely set networks.<ref name="winklemann1959"/>{{REFjournal |last=Winklemann |first=RK |author-link= |title=The erogenous zones: their nerve supply and significance |journal=Mayo Clin Proc |date=1959-01-21 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=39-47 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/winkelmann/ |pubmedID=13645790 |accessdate=2019-10-16}}</ref>
Lakshamanan & Parkash Prakash (1980) report the ""prepuce covers the glans completely and snugly like a hosiered material and continues to do so through the entire span of life of the male'", which they explain as being caused by the smooth muscle fibers within the prepuce. The prepuce is free to glide back and forth. When it does, it must stretch to go over the glans penis.<ref name="lakshmanan-prakash1980" /> Taylor ''et al''. (1996) carried out a histological study of the foreskin. (Histology is the microscopic examination of cells and tissues.) Taylor et al. found an area of rete ridges just inside the tip of the foreskin that he called the [[ridged band]]. The ridges were found to have nerve endings at the top of the ridges. They report that the ridged band area moves to the shaft of the penis when the penis becomes erect where the nerves are subject to stimulation.
''The following content is part of the [[Circumpendium]].''