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In male human anatomy, the glans penis (or simply glans, )〔''OED'' 2nd edition, 1989.〕 is the sensitive bulbous structure at the distal end of the 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 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. ==Medical considerations== 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. Inflammation of the glans penis is known as balanitis. It occurs in 3–11% of males, and up to 35% of diabetic males. Edwards reported that it is generally more common in males who have poor hygiene habits or have not been circumcised. It has many causes, including irritation, or infection with a wide variety of pathogens. Careful identification of the cause with the aid of patient history, physical examination, swabs and cultures, and biopsy are essential in order to determine the proper treatment.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Glans penis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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