Penis
The penis is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation, or sexual intercourse. It is the male genital organ of higher vertebrates that carries the duct for the transfer of sperm during sexual intercourse. In humans and most other mammals, it consists largely of erectile tissue and serves also for the elimination of urine. It lies between the legs of a man, above the testicles.
Most of the penis develops from the same tissue that becomes the clitoris in females during human development. The skin around the penis and the urethra come from the same tissue from which develops the labia minora in females.
There are three main parts to the penis:
Preceding and during sexual intercourse, the penis stiffens and rises in what is called an erection. The primary physical cause that brings about erection is the enlargement of the arteries that supply blood to the penis, which allows blood to fill the spongy tissue chambers in the penis, causing it to lengthen and stiffen.
Most of the penis develops from the same tissue that becomes the clitoris in females during human development. The skin around the penis and the urethra come from the same tissue from which develops the labia minora in females.
There are three main parts to the penis:
- Root of the penis (or radix): the attached part that lies within the perineum.
- Body of the penis (or corpus): It has two surfaces: dorsal (the behind and upper part in an erect penis), and ventral or urethral (facing downwards and backwards in a flaccid penis).
- Epithelium: The shaft skin, the foreskin, and the skin on the inside of the foreskin.
Preceding and during sexual intercourse, the penis stiffens and rises in what is called an erection. The primary physical cause that brings about erection is the enlargement of the arteries that supply blood to the penis, which allows blood to fill the spongy tissue chambers in the penis, causing it to lengthen and stiffen.
Nuts & Bolts: What is the Penis?
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