Men's Health Information The Prepuce and its Functions in Human Sexuality a public service message, courtesy of the WebMagician

A Normal, Healthy Penis Has A Prepuce North American society has a severe problem when it comes to sexuality, and a huge double-standard when it comes to discussing male and female genitals.  While it appears perfectly normal for women to talk about female genitals, there is a tremendous aversion when it comes to men talking about theirs or other men's penises. The prepuce (foreskin) is not a birth defect.  It is an integral part of the normal, natural skin system of the penis.  Because of circumcision, more than half the population have never seen a normal penis, and have no idea how its natural biological 'design' was meant to work. A normal penis is exquisite in its design and functionality.  Circumcision severely damages that design, and irrevocably destroys that functionality. To understand how circumcision affects the penis, you need to know what a normal, intact penis looks like, and the integral physical and sexual role the prepuce serves. This is what a normal penis looks like. This penis is semi-erect, and the foreskin has been partially pulled back, exposing about half of the glans.  Notice how the prepuce very snuggly hugs the glans.  Also notice the rich network of veins in the prepuce, supplying the glans and penile shaft with the blood flow necessary to produce and maintain an erection. Another example, from a different perspective, showing the foreskin 'bunched' just over the base of the glans. When the penis is inside the vagina during intercourse, the outer preputial skin is held against the vaginal wall, and the penile shaft slides within the foreskin, thus minimizing direct contact with the vaginal tissue, thereby eliminating the friction which can cause chaffing and pain during intercourse.

What, Exactly, Is The Prepuce ? There is a lot of skin on a normal penis.  It is continuous and seamless; it runs down from the base of the shaft, reaching past the end of the glans, folds back upon itself, returns upward toward the base of the shaft flowing underneath the outer layer of tissue, comes back into contact with the shaft and returns forward once again and attaches to the base of the glans.  The foreskin, which is formally called the prepuce, is approximately 50 to 80% of all of that skin tissue. When the penis is flacid, the glans is normally completely covered by the prepuce. The prepuce is unlike 'normal' skin.  Besides its erotogenic qualities, the foreskin is extremely flexible, similar in elasticity to a rubber band.  It is this quality which allows it to expand to accomodate an erection, and then contract back again when the penis becomes flacid.

Functions of the Foreskin The foreskin has protective, sensory and sexual functions. The foreskin represents 50% to 80% of the skin system of the penis depending on the length of the penile shaft. The average foreskin has over three feet of veins, arteries, and capillaries, 240 feet of nerve fibres, and over 20,000 nerve endings. Unfolded, the adult foreskin measures 15 to 20 square inches. Protective functions Just as the eyelids protect the eyes, the foreskin protects the glans and keeps its surface soft, moist, and sensitive. It also maintains optimal warmth, pH balance and cleanliness. The glans itself contains no sebaceous glands that produce sebum that moisturise the skin. The foreskin produces the sebum that maintains proper health of the surface of the glans. Coverage during erection As it becomes erect, the penile shaft becomes thicker and longer. The double-layered foreskin provides the skin necessary to accommodate the expanded organ and to allow the penile skin to glide freely, smoothly, and pleasurably over the shaft and glans. Immunological functions The mucous membranes that line all body orifices are the body’s first line of immunological defence. Apocrine glands in the foreskin produce antibacterial and anti-viral proteins such as lysozyme, which is also found in mother’s milk. (special breaking news item: enzymes produced by foreskin kill AIDS virus ... details below) Erogenous Sensitivity The foreskin is as sensitive as the fingertips or the lips of the mouth. It contains a richer variety and greater concentration of specialised nerve receptors than any other part of the penis. These specialised nerve endings can discern motion, subtle changes in temperature, and fine gradations of texture. Sexual Functions in Intercourse One of the foreskin’s functions is to facilitate smooth, gentle movement between the mucosal surfaces of the two partners during intercourse. The foreskin also plays a major role in the stimulation of the female "G-spot" (details below - Foreskin Amputation: What Is Lost Forever).

Female Sexual Organs & Their Function The clitoris is a mass of erogenous tissue, filled with specialized, touch-sensitive nerve endings. The labia, both inner & outer, are also rich with erogenous nerve tissue. The clitoris and the labia are stimulated by touch, by rubbing. The lining of the vagina walls also contains nerve endings, but they are pressure-sensitive, not touch sensitive, and therefore are not stimulated by rubbing, but rather by pressure against the vagina wall, that is, by the actions of the vaginal tissue expanding and contracting as the penis fills and vacates the vaginal cavity. As the female develops from birth through puberty, the clitoris grows and develops neural pathways to the brain; this triggers development of a pleasure centre deep within the cerebral cortex of the brain. As a grown woman, the stimulation of the clitoris during sexual activity feeds signals to this pleasure centre in her brain, which ultimately triggers the physical response known as an orgasm.

Male Sexual Organs & Their Function The foreskin of the penis is a mass of erogenous tissue, filled with specialized, touch-sensitive nerve endings. The foreskin tissue is stimulated by touch, by rubbing. The glans - the head of the penis - also contains nerve endings, but they are pressure-sensitive, not touch sensitive, and therefore are not stimulated by rubbing, but rather by pressure against the glans head, that is, by the actions of the compression and expansion of the glans as the penis fills and vacates the vaginal cavity. The rest of the penis contains no erogenous tissue: the penile shaft itself contains no erogenous tissue; only the foreskin and glans contain erotogenic nerve tissue. As the male develops from birth through puberty, the foreskin grows and develops neural pathways to the brain; this triggers development of a pleasure centre deep within the cerebral cortex of the brain. As a grown man, the stimulation of the foreskin during sexual activity feeds signals to this pleasure centre in his brain, which ultimately triggers the physical response known as an orgasm. Do not confuse an ejaculation with an orgasm: an ejaculation is not an orgasm; it is a related, yet different, physiological response, triggered by the autonomic nervous system. The ejaculatory action stimulates pressure-sensitive nerve endings deep inside the glans, and therefore provides a pleasurable feeling, but this is not an orgasm.

Foreskin Amputation: What Is Lost Forever ALL of that exquisite, highly erogenous, touch-sensitive nerve tissue is completed removed from the penis, thus robbing the man of all of the pleasure which would normally be derived through the normal, natural, touch stimulation of the penis. In addition, virtually all of the pressure-sensitive nerve endings located on the surface of the glans, are also stripped from the penis, because the foreskin is literally torn from the glans during the circumcision amputation, and the bulk of those glans nerve endings are ripped from the glans in the process. A man who has been circumcised at birth, can never experience a true orgasm; it is physiologically impossible, because the normal development of that specialized pleasure centre within the brain requires nerve triggers from the maturing foreskin tissue in order to form.  Without those foreskin triggers during the child's adolescent development, that pleasure centre atrophies. The female sexual partner is also affected by circumcision. Because the circumcised penis no longer has any skin mobility, the shaft of the penis rubs directly against the delicate tissue inside the vagina, creating friction and causing chaffing during intercourse. The foreskin of a normal penis produces natural emolliants which lubricate the penis, reducing friction, thereby making intercourse more comfortable.  The circumcised penis is no longer capable of producing that lubrication, which leads to friction and chaffing, making intercourse painful. The majority of erogenous nerve endings within the vagina are located in the first inch to inch and a half of the mucosal lining just inside the vagina. The contact between the foreskin - which is also mucosal tissue - and the mucosal tissue within the vagina, produces a highly-pleasurable interaction for both sexual partners. The absence of the mucosal foreskin tissue means there is no interaction, and therefore none of the pleasurable sensations which would normally be felt. The foreskin also plays a MAJOR role in the stimulation of the female "G-spot". As the penis moves back and forth, sliding within its foreskin, the foreskin continuously stretches and collapses along the length of the shaft. Inside the vagina, at a point just behind the female pubic bone, the foreskin gets "bunched up" as the shaft glides in and out. As the foreskin "bunches up", it applies pressure on the vaginal tissues in that spot. That spot of tissues is known as the female "G-spot". A circumcised penis has no foreskin, and therefore is incapable of putting pressure on the female's "G-spot". While it is possible to stimulate the G-spot via other methods (eg: finger(s)), nature designed the penis for this role, as it was meant to strengthen the intimacy and sexual bonding between the two partners.

Enzymes Produced by the Foreskin Kill HIV NEWS FLASH !! The foreskin secretes many proteins and enzymes. Newly announced research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA), Volume 96 Number 6: Pages 2678-2681, 1999 Mar 16, indicates that one these enzymes KILLS the HIV virus! Please click here to access this announcement!

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