Glans penis

Glans penis
Glans penis (dorsal view)
Glans penis (ventral view)
Details
Artery	Urethral artery
Identifiers
Latin	Glans penis
Dorlands /Elsevier	Glans penis
TA	A09.4.01.007
FMA	18247
Anatomical terminology []

The glans penis (or simply glans, /ɡlænz/) is the sensitive bulbous structure at the distal end of the human penis. The glans is anatomically homologous to the clitoral glans of the human female.

Typically, the glans is completely or partially covered by the foreskin, except in men who have been circumcised. The foreskin can generally be retracted over and past the glans, and may automatically retract during an erection.

The glans is more commonly known as the "head" or the "tip" of the penis. The medical name comes from the Latin words glans ('acorn') and penis ('of the penis') – the Latin genitive of this word has the same form as the nominative.

The meatus (opening) of the urethra is located at the tip of the glans penis. In circumcised infants, the foreskin no longer protects the meatal area of the glans; consequently, when wearing diapers, there may be greater risk of developing meatitis, meatal ulceration, or meatal stenosis.

The epithelium of the glans penis is mucocutaneous tissue. Birley et al. report that excessive washing with soap may dry the mucous membrane that covers the glans penis and cause non-specific dermatitis.