What is a Penis?

The different parts of your penis are:

1. The shaft – the long part of the penis
2. The glans – the head of the penis
3. The foreskin, if you aren’t circumcised – skin that covers the glans
4. The urethral opening – where the pee comes out

The penis is able to get bigger and smaller because it’s made of erectile tissue – inside it’s like a sponge that can fill up with blood.

Head and foreskin

The head of your penis, the glans, is a sensitive part of your penis - usually the most sensitive part. When you’re born, the head of your penis is covered and protected by the foreskin.

Some men are circumcised. This means their foreskin is cut away.

The foreskin is attached to the head by a band of skin called the frenulum. It is very sensitive to touch, particularly the bottom ridge. If you’re uncircumcised, when you get an erection, the foreskin usually slides back and the head is uncovered. But in some men the frenulum can be very short. So when you have erection, it’s painful because your foreskin may be stopped from sliding right back over the head of your penis. A doctor can free it with a minor operation. Whether you’re circumcised or not, it’s important to clean your penis carefully. Read more on how to care for the uncircumcised or circumcised penis.

Hygiene

Whether you’re circumcised or uncircumcised you should wash your penis every day.

If you're uncircumcised, gently pull back your foreskin and use warm water to clean the head of your penis. You can use soap on the shaft of your penis, but it’s probably not a good idea to use soap to clean under your foreskin.

Soap can upset the natural balance of bacteria and actually make you more likely to get fungal infections. If you do choose to wash the head of your penis with soap, use a gentle one without strong perfumes.

It's important to wash away smegma. This is a white or yellowish sticky substance made up of skin oil and shed skin cells. It’s perfectly natural, but it can build up under your foreskin and smell, irritate, and cause infection.

Erection

An erection is when the penis gets enlarged and hard. Inside your penis are three tubes of spongy tissue. When you get sexually aroused, they fill up with blood, and your penis gets longer and harder. When you get an erection it may be called a ‘boner’, but there’s no bone in a penis!

What happens when you're aroused?

• You get an erection – your penis goes hard and gets bigger.
• A clear fluid called pre-ejaculate comes out of the end of your penis.
• Your breathing speeds up and you may even make noises
• Your pupils (the dark centre in your eyes) get bigger

Variations

Erections vary in size and angle. No two boys or men are the same. There are big variations in the size and angle of erections, which can be influenced by things like circumcision and genetics.

Circumcision and erection

Not circumcised
If you’re uncircumcised, when you have an erection your foreskin slides back, and you can see the head of your penis (glans).

Circumcised
If you are circumcised, whether you have an erection or not, you can see the head of your penis. This is because your foreskin has been removed.

It's all in the angle

When erect, your penis could point upwards, downwards, or straight ahead.

• 25 percent of men have erect penises that point nearly or completely downwards to their feet
• 35 percent of men have erect penises that point nearly or completely straight up against their abdomen area
• 40 percent of men have erect penises that point nearly or completely straight forward

Pearly penile papules

If you’ve got little white bumps around the rim of the head of your penis, they may well be pearly penile papules.

Pearly penile papules aren't a sexually transmitted infection. This means you can’t get them from someone else or spread them to other people.

They are often confused with genital warts, but they’re not an infection at all. If the bumps on your penis bleed, itch, pop or seep fluids, get them checked by a medical professional.

Common

Pearly penile papules appear to be very common. The few studies done on them found that anywhere between 8 to 48 percent of men surveyed had them. They seem to be particularly common among men aged 20 to 30 years old.

It’s possible that through your lifetime, the bumps will appear and disappear by themselves. Don’t pick at them or try to pop them because you can create infections or scarring.

They don’t need medical treatment because they are not caused by an infection or an abnormality. However, some men are embarrassed by the way they look. Also, you might feel it affects the way you have sex.

Treatment

A dermatologist can remove them using a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. It’s a simple but painful operation in which the CO2 laser vaporises the bumps. After the procedure, there will be some swelling and scabbing, but it should heal within two weeks.