Clitoral hood

Clitoral hood
Outer anatomy of clitoris.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	preputium clitoridis
TA	A09.2.01.009
FMA	20169
Anatomical terminology []

In female human anatomy, the clitoral hood (also called preputium clitoridis and clitoral prepuce) is a fold of skin that surrounds and protects the glans of the clitoris; it also covers the external shaft of the clitoris, develops as part of the labia minora and is homologous with the foreskin (equally called prepuce) in male genitals. The clitoral hood, like the foreskin, is composed of muccocutaneous tissues; these tissues are between the mucosa and the skin, and they may have immunological importance because they may be a point of entry of mucosal vaccines. The clitoral hood is also important not only in protection of the clitoral glans, but also in pleasure, as it is an erogenous tissue.

The clitoral hood is formed from the same tissues that form the foreskin in human males. The clitoral hood is formed during the fetal stage by the cellular lamella. The cellular lamella grows down on the dorsal side of the clitoris and is eventually fused with the clitoris.

The clitoral hood varies in the size, shape, thickness, and other aesthetic areas. Some women have large clitoral hoods that completely cover the clitoral glans. Some of these can be retracted to expose the clitoral glans, such as for hygiene purposes or for pleasure; others do not retract. Other women have smaller hoods that do not cover the full length of the clitoral glans, leaving the clitoral glans exposed all the time. As in the male, sticky bands of tissue called adhesions can form between the hood and the glans; these stick the hood onto the glans so the hood cannot be pulled back to expose the glans, and, as in the male, strongly scented smegma can accumulate.

Normally, the clitoral glans itself is too sensitive to be stimulated directly, such as in cases where the hood is retracted. Women with hoods covering most of the clitoral glans can often masturbate by stimulating the hood over the clitoral glans; those with smaller, or more compact, structures tend to rub the clitoral glans and hood together as one item.