Male genitalia might seem more self-explanatory, but there's a lot hidden under the surface that affects a guy’s health and sexual functioning. Just as with your own anatomy, it's complicated. So, to un-complicate things, we thought we'd bring you a no-holds-barred explanation of a guy’s penis.
The Penis
The interior of the penis is made up of two different types of tissue, called the corpus cavernosum and the corpus spongiosum, as well as nerves and blood vessels.
• Corpus cavernosum: Two columns of tissue running along the sides of the penis. Blood fills this tissue to cause an erection.
• Corpus spongiosum: A column of sponge-like tissue running along the front of the penis and ending at the glans penis; it fills with blood during an erection, keeping the urethra -- which runs through it -- open.
• The urethra runs through the corpus spongiosum, conducting urine out of the body.
An erection results from changes in blood flow in the penis. When a man becomes sexually aroused, nerves cause penis blood vessels to expand. More blood flows in and less flows out of the penis, hardening the tissue in the corpus cavernosum.
When a man gets sexually stimulated, blood flows to the penis and fills up the tissue “like a sponge,” The result is an erection.
The penis, , reaching its full size during puberty, has the average size of about 6 inches when erect, but size varies widely so don’t hold us, or any guy you meet, to that approximation.
Men can be very self-conscious about their penis size, and just like a woman’s parts, men too come in all sizes. We talk a lot about body positivity, and that goes for guys too. Be nice. It can wreck a guy’s self-esteem, men can get erections even when they are not necessarily consciously turned on, so be sensitive to that and don’t make a big deal about it, if say, you notice a dude “getting hard” while you’re both watching So You Think You Can Dance.
Quick Penis Facts:
• You can break it: No, it’s not a bone, but Dr. Paduch says that you can damage the tissue, causing internal scarring, disfiguration, and the inability to have an erection. So be gentle!
Glans
The glans is the bulbous part at the tip of the penis that looks like a hat — officially called the “head.” It’s generally more sensitive than the shaft (the long part) of the penis. In the glans is the opening to the urethra, the tube through which urine and semen, which aids in fertilizing a woman’s egg in order to make a baby, both come out.
Foreskin
In America, it’s rare to find a man who still has a foreskin, due to the widespread practice of circumcision — an ancient practice with origins in religious rites. If a man has one, it covers the glans when his penis isn’t erect and gets pulled back when it is. According to Manta, men with foreskin tend to have greater sensitivity. “A lot of people think foreskin is dirty but that’s not true. You can keep it clean the same way you would any other part of your body,” says Manta. In other parts of the world, say Paris, France, most men still have foreskin, so you might very well encounter this in your lifetime.
In uncircumcised men, the glans is covered with pink, moist tissue called mucosa. Covering the glans is the foreskin (prepuce). In circumcised men, the foreskin is surgically removed and the mucosa on the glans transforms into dry skin.
