Where do all the foreskins go?

Anatomy, Sensitivity and Function of the Foreskin:

  • The foreskin, commonly believed to have no purpose, has numerous functions and all of them are eliminated when the foreskin is removed. 
  • Foreskin should be considered an organ since it has at least two major functions: Mechanical-rolling bearing & size stretch and primary sensory.
  • Known functions are protective, immunological, and sexual. 
  • The foreskin contains between 10,000-20,000 highly specialized nerve endings and several feet of blood vessels. 
  • The entire intact penis may contain around 24,000 nerves, with only 4,000 or so remaining after circumcision. 
  • The head of the penis (glans) is meant to be an internal organ, like the tongue and eyeball. 
  • Without the protection of the foreskin, like the lips and eyelid, the penis builds up a layer of calloused skin (keratinization) for protection. 
  • Between the removal of  roughly 20,000 nerves and the now calloused over 4,000 nerves, you now have around 30-10% of the feeling you were born with. 
  • An adult male foreskin, if unfolded and spread out, would be about the size of index card (3 x 5 inches), much more than a “little piece of skin.”. 
  • The prepuce (foreskin) makes up as much as half of the skin system of the penis. 
  • It is an extension of the shaft skin that folds over into itself, completely covering and protecting the glans (an internal organ) and provides the mobility of the shaft skin necessary for frictionless intercourse and masturbation. 
  • Many sexually active men circumcised in adulthood report a significant decrease in sexual pleasure and comfort because of the loss of sensitive nerve endings, skin mobility and natural lubrication. 
  • A newborn boy's foreskin is tightly fused to the glans (head of the penis) and has a sphincter on the tip that prevents anything foreign entering the foreskin. 
  • The sphincter relaxes upon urination to let urine out. 
  • The foreskin also contains lyzosyme, a secretion that acts to destroy harmful microorganisms as well as Langerhans cells which may provide resistance to HIV infection. 

Foreskin Resources: