The male genitals are more visible to the eye and familiar to the man because he has contact with his penis every time he urinates. Yet many men have never taken the time to truly examine the penis.
At birth the penis is uncircumcised, with the foreskin covering the glans, or head. The foreskin can be removed surgically for hygienic reasons. There is no truth to the myth that the uncircumcised penis is much more sensitive to touch.
The penis. The penis is cortiposed of three columns of spongy tissue with the urethra running through the bottom column (corpus spongiosum). These spongy tissues fill with blood in a type of “hydraulic system” that creates the erection. The whole penis is intricate network of blood vessels and nerves, with the glans of the penis being especially sensitive. The skin of the penis is loosely attached to allow for easier stimulation. Penises can vary in the angle of erection, shape of the head, length, and color. This has nothing to do with the ability to give and receive pleasure. The myth of the importance of penis size in making love must forever be put to rest. When flaccid, the size of the penis will vary greatly; when erect, the size for most men falls into the range of six inches, plus or minus an inch or so. The outer third of the vagina is the most sensitive, and it would take a penis only three inches or less in length to creategreat plea-sure. Men, quit being obsessed with penis size—it is not on the list of needed qualities for being a great lover.
The scrotum and testes. The scrotum is a sac of skin en-closing the testes. Under the skin is a muscle that can contract in response to cold or during sexual arousal, causing the scrotum to hang lower or get tighter to the body. The scrotum and the base of the penis contain hair follicles and sebaceous glands that can become ingrown and infected, much like pimples. Sometimes a varicocele occurs in the scrotum. It is a bundle of dilated veins of the spermatic cord, much like varicose veins. This condition can be painful and may require minor surgery to repair.
The testicles will hang with one lower than the other. The testes are outside the body and contract toward the body with cold because they produce sperm and hormones, and the sperm need to develop in a constant temperature that is several degrees lower than body temperature.
The epididymis is a coil of small tubes attached to a testis. The coil can sometimes get infected (epididymitis) and needs to be medically treated. The epididymis ends in the vas deferens, which is the tube that conducts sperm to the seminal vesicles and the ejaculatory duct. During a vasectomy, the vas is cut and tied off to prevent sperm from reaching the semen.
The seminal vesicles, bladder, prostate, and urethra. As you trace the vas deferens, it becomes a complex valve system with the seminal vesicles, the bladder, and the urethra, which passes through the prostate. The vas deferens brings sperm to the seminal vesicles and narrows to form the ejaculatory duct. This duct runs through and joins the urethra in the prostate. The prostate is about the size of a chest-nut and produces fluid that forms part of the semen. The prostate can become infected (prostatitis) or cancerous, which necessitates medical treatment. Cancer may require a prostatectomy, which can create retrograde ejaculation: the ejaculate goes back into the bladder rather than out through the urethra and penis. (This condition does not have to affect sexual pleasure.) In an orgasm the muscles around the prostate and ejaculatory duct and the base of the penis contract, propelling the semen out through the urethra.
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