Foreskin: Difference between revisions
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The fold of the prepuce maintains sub-preputial wetness, which mixes with exfoliated skin to form [[smegma]]. Some authors believe that smegma contains antibacterial enzymes,<ref>[http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/STD/fleiss3/ Immunological Functions of the Human Prepuce]</ref> though their theory has been challenged.<ref>[http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/74/5/364#112 STI -- eLetters for Fleiss et al., 74 (5) 364-367]</ref> The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] state that "No controlled scientific data are available regarding differing immune function in a penis with or without a foreskin."<ref>{{cite journal |author= |title=Circumcision policy statement. American Academy of Pediatrics. Task Force on Circumcision |journal=Pediatrics |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=686–93 |year=1999 |month=March |pmid=10049981 |doi= |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=10049981}}</ref> Inferior hygiene has been associated with [[balanitis]],<ref name="pmid16105191">{{cite journal |author=O'Farrell N, Quigley M, Fox P |title=Association between the intact foreskin and inferior standards of male genital hygiene behaviour: a cross-sectional study |journal=Int J STD AIDS |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=556–9 |year=2005 |pmid=16105191 |doi=10.1258/0956462054679151}}</ref> though excessive washing can cause non-specific [[dermatitis]].<ref>[http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/balanitis/birley/ Birley: Management of Recurrent Balanitis]</ref> |
The fold of the prepuce maintains sub-preputial wetness, which mixes with exfoliated skin to form [[smegma]]. Some authors believe that smegma contains antibacterial enzymes,<ref>[http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/STD/fleiss3/ Immunological Functions of the Human Prepuce]</ref> though their theory has been challenged.<ref>[http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/74/5/364#112 STI -- eLetters for Fleiss et al., 74 (5) 364-367]</ref> The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] state that "No controlled scientific data are available regarding differing immune function in a penis with or without a foreskin."<ref>{{cite journal |author= |title=Circumcision policy statement. American Academy of Pediatrics. Task Force on Circumcision |journal=Pediatrics |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=686–93 |year=1999 |month=March |pmid=10049981 |doi= |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=10049981}}</ref> Inferior hygiene has been associated with [[balanitis]],<ref name="pmid16105191">{{cite journal |author=O'Farrell N, Quigley M, Fox P |title=Association between the intact foreskin and inferior standards of male genital hygiene behaviour: a cross-sectional study |journal=Int J STD AIDS |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=556–9 |year=2005 |pmid=16105191 |doi=10.1258/0956462054679151}}</ref> though excessive washing can cause non-specific [[dermatitis]].<ref>[http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/balanitis/birley/ Birley: Management of Recurrent Balanitis]</ref> |
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===Evolution=== |
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In primates, the foreskin is present in the genitalia of both sexes and likely has been present for millions of years of evolution.<ref> {{cite book | last1 = Martin | first1 = Robert D. | title = Primate Origins and Evolution: A Phylogenetic Reconstruction | publisher = New Jersey: Princeton University Press | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0-691-08565-4}}</ref> The evolution of complex penile morphologies like the foreskin may have been influenced by females.<ref> {{cite book | last1 = Diamond | first1 = Jared M. | title = Why Sex is Fun: The Evolution of Human Sexuality | publisher = London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson | year = 1997 | isbn = 0465031269}}</ref><ref> {{cite book | last1 = Darwin | first1 = Charles | title = The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex | publisher = London: Murray | year = 1871 | isbn = 1148750932}}</ref><ref> {{cite book | last1 = Short | first1 = RV | title = Graham CE, ed. Reproductive Biology of the Great Apes: Comparative and Biomedical Perspectives | chapter = Sexual selection in man and the great apes | publisher = New York: Academic Press | year = 1981}}</ref> It has been proposed that the foreskin evolved to facilitate masturbation.<ref> {{cite journal | title = De virginibus puerisque: The function of the human foreskin considered from an evolutionary perspective | journal = Med Hypotheses | date = 1995 | first = Guy | last = Cox | volume = 45 | issue = 6 | pages = 617-21| id = PMID 8771059 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/pubmed}}</ref> The human prepuce has an increase in corpuscular innervation and concomitant decrease in corpuscular receptors in the human glans compared to the prepuce and glans of lower primates, demonstrating an evolutionary advancement.<ref> {{cite journal | title = Proximate and ultimate influences on the regulation of mating in the great apes | journal = American Journal of Primatology | date = 1995 | first = Ronald D. | last = Nadler | volume = 37 | issue = 2 | pages = 93-102| id = {{doi | 10.1002/ajp.1350370204}}}}</ref><ref> {{cite journal | title = Enigmatic features of penile development and functions | journal = Perspectives in Biology and Medicine | date = 1990 | last = Williams-Ashman HG. | volume = 33 | pages = 335-74| id = PMID 2188210 }}</ref><ref> {{cite journal | title = Baculum length and copulatory behavior in primates | journal = American Journal of Primatology | date = 1987 | first = A. F. | last = Dixson | volume = 13 | issue = 1 | pages = 51-60| id = {{doi | 10.1002/ajp.1350130107}} | accessdate = 2010-06-22}}</ref> |
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==Conditions== |
==Conditions== |
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