Clitoris


In amniotes, the clitoris is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female sexual pleasure. The clitoris is a complex structure, and its size and sensitivity can vary. The visible portion, the [|glans], of the clitoris is typically roughly the size and shape of a pea and is estimated to have more than 10,000 nerve endings.
Sexological, medical, and psychological debate has focused on the clitoris, and it has been subject to social constructionist analyses and studies. Such discussions range from anatomical accuracy, gender inequality, female genital mutilation, and orgasmic factors and their physiological explanation for the G-spot. The only known purpose of the human clitoris is to provide sexual pleasure.
Knowledge of the clitoris is significantly affected by its cultural perceptions. Studies suggest that knowledge of its existence and anatomy is scant in comparison with that of other sexual organs and that more education about it could help alleviate stigmas, such as the idea that the clitoris and vulva in general are visually unappealing or that female masturbation is taboo and disgraceful.
The clitoris is homologous to the majority of the penis in males.

Etymology and terminology

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the Neo-Latin word clītoris likely has its origin in the Ancient Greek κλειτορίς, which means "little hill", and perhaps derived from the verb κλείειν, meaning "to shut" or "to sheathe". Clitoris is also related to the Greek word κλείς, "key", "indicating that the ancient anatomists considered it the key" to female sexuality. In addition, the Online Etymology Dictionary suggests other Greek candidates for this word's etymology include a noun meaning "latch" or "hook" or a verb meaning "to touch or titillate lasciviously", "to tickle". The Oxford English Dictionary also states that the colloquially shortened form clit, the first occurrence of which was noted in the United States, has been used in print since 1958: until then, the common abbreviation was clitty. Other slang terms for clitoris are bean, nub, and love button. The term is commonly used to refer to the glans alone. In recent anatomical works, the clitoris has also been referred to as the bulbo-clitoral organ.

Structure

Most of the clitoris is composed of internal parts. Regarding humans, it consists of the glans, the [|body], the prepuce, and the [|root]. The [|frenulum] is beneath the glans.
Research indicates that clitoral tissue extends into the vaginal anterior wall. Şenaylı et al. said that the histological evaluation of the clitoris, "especially of the corpora cavernosa, is incomplete because for many years the clitoris was considered a rudimentary and nonfunctional organ". They added that Baskin and colleagues examined the clitoris' masculinization after dissection and using imaging software after Masson's trichrome staining, put the serial dissected specimens together; this revealed that nerves surround the whole clitoral body.
The clitoris, its bulbs, labia minora, and urethra involve two histologically distinct types of vascular tissue, the first of which is trabeculated, erectile tissue innervated by the cavernous nerves. The trabeculated tissue has a spongy appearance; along with blood, it fills the large, dilated vascular spaces of the clitoris and the bulbs. Beneath the epithelium of the vascular areas is smooth muscle. As indicated by Yang etal.'s research, it may also be that the urethral lumen, which is surrounded by a spongy tissue, has tissue that "is grossly distinct from the vascular tissue of the clitoris and bulbs, and on macroscopic observation, is paler than the dark tissue" of the clitoris and bulbs. The second type of vascular tissue is non-erectile, which may consist of blood vessels that are dispersed within a fibrous matrix and have only a minimal amount of smooth muscle.

Glans

Highly innervated, the clitoral glans, also known as the "head" or "tip", exists at the anterior side of the clitoral body as a fibro-vascular cap and is usually the size and shape of a pea, although it is sometimes much larger or smaller. The glans is separated from the clitoral body by a ridge of tissue called the corona. The clitoral glans is estimated to have 8,000 and possibly 10,000 or more sensory nerve endings, making it the most sensitive erogenous zone. The glans also has numerous genital corpuscles. Research conflicts on whether the glans is composed of erectile or non-erectile tissue. Some sources describe the clitoral glans and labia minora as composed of non-erectile tissue; this is especially the case for the glans. They state that the clitoral glans and labia minora have blood vessels that are dispersed within a fibrous matrix and have only a minimal amount of smooth muscle, or that the clitoral glans is "a midline, densely neural, non-erectile structure". The clitoral glans is homologous to the male penile glans.
Other descriptions of the glans assert that it is composed of erectile tissue and that erectile tissue is present within the labia minora. The glans may be noted as having glandular vascular spaces that are not as prominent as those in the clitoral body, with the spaces being separated more by smooth muscle than in the body and crura. Adipose tissue is absent in the labia minora, but the organ may be described as being made up of dense connective tissue, erectile tissue and elastic fibers.

Frenulum

The clitoral frenulum or frenum is a medial band of tissue formed between the undersurface of the glans and the top ends of the labia minora. It is homologous to the penile frenulum in males. The frenulum's main function is to maintain the clitoris in its innate position.

Body

The clitoral body is a portion behind the glans that contains the union of the corpora cavernosa, a pair of sponge-like regions of erectile tissue that hold most of the blood in the clitoris during erection. It is homologous to the penile shaft in the male. The two corpora forming the clitoral body are surrounded by thick fibro-elastic tunica albuginea, a sheath of connective tissue. These corpora are separated incompletely from each other in the midline by a fibrous pectiniform septuma comblike band of connective tissue extending between the corpora cavernosa. The clitoral body is also connected to the pubic symphysis by the suspensory ligament.
The body of the clitoris is a bent shape, which makes the clitoral angle or elbow. The angle divides the body into the ascending part near the pubic symphysis and the descending part, which can be seen and felt through the clitoral hood.

Root

Lying in the perineum and within the superficial perineal pouch is the root of the clitoris, which consists of the posterior ends of the clitoris, the crura and the bulbs of vestibule.
The crura are the parts of the corpora cavernosa extending from the clitoral body and form an upside-down "V" shape. Each crus is attached to the corresponding ischial ramusextensions of the corpora beneath the descending pubic rami. Concealed behind the labia minora, the crura end with attachment at or just below the middle of the pubic arch. Associated are the urethral sponge, perineal sponge, a network of nerves and blood vessels, the suspensory ligament of the clitoris, muscles and the pelvic floor.
The vestibular bulbs are more closely related to the clitoris than the vestibule because of the similarity of the trabecular and erectile tissue within the clitoris and its bulbs, and the absence of trabecular tissue in other parts of the vulva, with the erectile tissue's trabecular nature allowing engorgement and expansion during sexual arousal. The vestibular bulbs are typically described as lying close to the crura on either side of the vaginal opening; internally, they are beneath the labia majora. The anterior sections of the bulbs unite to create the bulbar commissure, which forms a long strip of erectile tissue dubbed the infra-corporeal residual spongy part that expands from the ventral shaft and terminates as the glans. The RSP is also connected to the shaft via the pars intermedia. When engorged with blood, the bulbs cuff the vaginal opening and cause the vulva to expand outward. Although several texts state that they surround the vaginal opening, Ginger etal. state that this does not appear to be the case and tunica albuginea does not envelop the erectile tissue of the bulbs. In Yang et al.'s assessment of the bulbs' anatomy, they conclude that the bulbs "arch over the distal urethra, outlining what might be appropriately called the 'bulbar urethra' in women".

Hood

The clitoral hood or prepuce projects at the front of the labia commissure, where the edges of the labia majora meet at the base of the pubic mound. It is partially formed by fusion of the upper labia minora. The hood's function is to cover and protect the glans and external shaft. There is considerable variation in how much of the glans protrudes from the hood and how much is covered by it, ranging from completely covered to fully exposed, and tissue of the labia minora also encircles the base of the glans.

Size and length

There is no identified correlation between the size of the glans or clitoris as a whole, and a woman's age, height, weight, use of hormonal contraception, or being postmenopausal, although women who have given birth may have significantly larger clitoral measurements. Centimetre and millimetre measurements of the clitoris show variations in size. The clitoral glans has been cited as typically varying from 2 mm to 1 cm and usually being estimated at 4 to 5 mm in both the transverse and longitudinal planes.
A 1992 study concluded that the total clitoral length, including glans and body, is, where is the mean and is the standard deviation. Concerning other studies, researchers from the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital in London measured the labia and other genital structures of 50 women from the age of 18 to 50, with a mean age of 35.6., from 2003 to 2004, and the results given for the clitoral glans were 310 mm for the range and 5.5 mm for the mean. Other research indicates that the clitoral body can measure in length, while the clitoral body and crura together can be or more in length.