(200) Anatomic Maps of Erogenous Sensation & Pleasure in the Penis: Do Circumcised Men Report These Differently Than Uncircumcised Men?
Authors: Zaliznyak M , Isaacson D , Duralde E , Gaither T , Bresee C , Stelmar J , Yuan N , Topp K , Garcia M 
Published: May 2023

Introduction

For thousands of years male circumcision (MC) has been performed for cultural, religious, aesthetic, and public health reasons, and it continues to be among the most common surgical procedure performed worldwide. The effects of MC on sexual function remains controversial, despite recent systematic reviews demonstrating no adverse effects. A key area of debate regarding MC has been the impact of MC on penile sensation. Existing literature evaluating changes in penile sensitivity and pleasure following MC have primarily focused on the penis glans and the frenulum-area of the shaft. Additionally, studies describing the effects of MC on orgasm have focused on the changes in ease of reaching orgasm/ejaculatory latency. In truth, although patients rely on providers to counsel them about what results they might expect to occur with MC, the effects of MC on erogenous sensation and other orgasm-related domains of sexual function are still not well understood.

Objective

We sought to expand on the existing literature by assessing erogenous sensation throughout the entire penis surface area, and to evaluate differences in reported orgasm function among circumcised and uncircumcised men.

Methods

Adult male subjects recruited from a paid anonymous online survey platform (QualtricsTM, USA) were shown anatomic illustrations of a penis whose entire surface area was divided into 12 different regions. Subjects were instructed to identify regions they found pleasurable when touched during sex, and to rate each on a 1-10 scale. Subjects were also asked to characterize their typical orgasm across the following six domains: 1. Lead-time, 2. Orgasm duration, 3. Perceived body-location(s) of orgasm-sensation, 4. Classification of orgasm experience as a single or multiple-peak event, 5. Refractory period duration, and 6. Overall satisfaction. Comparisons between circumcised and uncircumcised men were performed with a 2-tailed T-test. The Benjamini-Hochberg Procedure with FDR=0.05 was applied to control for multiple comparisons.

Results

The survey was completed by 227 circumcised (mean age ± SD, 46.6 ± 17.7y) and 175 uncircumcised men (47.8 ± 18.1y). There were no significant differences in ratings across all twelve regions among circumcised and uncircumcised cohorts. However, when subjects were asked to identify which regions gave pleasure when touched during sex, significantly more circumcised (vs. uncircumcised) men reported a preference for the penis-tip (38% vs 17%, p=0.024) and the middle third of their ventral shaft (63% vs 48%, p=0.036). There were no significant differences in reported experience with orgasm quality and function across all six queried domains among circumcised and uncircumcised cohorts.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that both circumcised and uncircumcised men experience pleasure in their penis and experiences with orgasm function similarly. Although we often think of the tip of the penis as being the “most erogenous” location for men, we found that scored erogeneity was generally similar across the entire length of the penis. Although overall erogeneity ratings did not differ, we found that circumcised men reported more areas of their penis as “pleasurable when touched during sex”, as compared to their uncircumcised counterparts. These findings will be important to share with patients and their families considering MC.

Disclosure

No