The Anatomy and Physiology of the Human Prepuce

Abstract

In 1992, I conducted a series of interviews with physicians in Salt Lake City, Utah. Among other questions, interviewees were asked what knowledge they had of the nature and function of the prepuce. Aside from the ability of a few to recite a passage from a pamphlet produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics (in which the prepuce is described as tissue that protects the glans penis), most physicians were ignorant of the anatomy and physiology of the genital structures they were routinely removing from infants and children. Subsequent research revealed the reason for their lack of knowledge.