Glans

The male penis can be divided anatomically into three parts: The base of the penis lies in the pelvis, the shaft (or body) of the penis is the middle part and the tip of the penis is called the glans. The correct medical name for the glans is glans penis, with the explicit Latin word glans meaning the fruit of the oak tree, i.e., acorn. The name is due to the typical shape of the tip of the penis because viewed from the front it resembles the tree fruit. Colloquially, the acorn is also sometimes called a fireman's helmet or penis hat. Each acorn has a more or less pronounced acorn rim (corona glandis) and acorn neck (collum glandis). The rim of the glans is also called the corona. At the tip of the glans is the urethral orifice. This is the opening through which urine and semen pass to the outside. On the back of the glans, the foreskin frenulum is clearly visible in the middle. The transition between the glans and the shaft, on the other hand, is called the coronary sulcus. There are many individual shapes of the glans, especially the difference in size in relation to the penis shaft is quite individual from man to man. Some glans are round at the front, others are more pointed. Similarly, the colour of the glans is individual for each man. The human glans has its own erectile tissue (Latin: corpus cavernosum glandis), through which it enlarges during an erection.

When not erect, the glans is covered by the foreskin (lat. prepuce) and thus protected from mechanical influences and dirt. The foreskin is connected to the penis by the frenulum praeputii. Circumcised men lack the foreskin and thus also the protection of the glans. Over time, the skin on the glans becomes thicker and therefore less sensitive than in uncircumcised men. There are a lot of nerve cells on the glans and in the foreskin frenulum. This makes the glans the most sensitive erogenous zone in men, and its stimulation is crucial for male orgasm. At least every tenth man has small spots on the skin at the lower edge of the glans, which are called horn tips (lat.Hirsuties papillaris penis). These are no cause for alarm, but merely a remnant of evolution. However, when the glans becomes inflamed, it is called balanitis. Germs multiply between the foreskin and the glans. This is because the smegma (secretion of the foreskin glands) provides an ideal breeding ground. Other sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia, are also transmitted through the glans and foreskin during unprotected sex. By the way, the glans can be pierced. There are four different ways to do this: Vertically, horizontally, through the urethra and through the edge of the glans.