Human penis

In human anatomy, the penis (; pl.: penises or penes; from the Latin pēnis, initially 'tail') is an external sex organ (intromittent organ) through which males ejaculate and urinate. Together with the testes and surrounding structures, the penis functions as part of the male reproductive system. The main parts of the penis are the root, body, the epithelium, including the shaft skin, and the foreskin covering the glans. The body of the penis is made up of three columns of tissue: two corpora cavernosa on the dorsal side and corpus spongiosum between them on the ventral side. The urethra passes through the prostate gland, where it is joined by the ejaculatory ducts, and then passes through the corpus spongiosum. The external opening of the urethra at the tip of the glans is the urinary meatus. An erection is the stiffening expansion and orthogonal reorientation of the penis, which occurs during sexual arousal. Erections can occur in non-sexual situations; spontaneous non-sexual erections frequently occur during adolescence and sleep. In its flaccid state, the penis is smaller, gives to pressure, and the glans is covered by the foreskin. In its fully erect state, the shaft becomes rigid and the glans becomes engorged but not rigid. An erect penis may be straight or curved and may point at an upward angle, a downward angle, or straight ahead. As of 2015, the average erect human penis is 13 cm (5 in) long and has a circumference of 11 cm (4 in). Neither age nor size of the flaccid penis accurately predicts erectile length. There are also several common body modifications to the penis, including circumcision and piercings. The penis is homologous to the clitoris in females.