Human penis
Updated: 12/20/2025, 11:12:24 AM Wikipedia source
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 through the penis. The urethra goes across the corpus spongiosum and ends at the tip of the glans as the opening, called 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 13.12 cm (5.17 in) long and has a circumference of 11.66 cm (4.59 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 glans penis is homologous to the clitoris in females.
Infobox
Precursor
Genital tubercle, urogenital folds, urogenital sinus
System
Genitourinary system, male reproductive system
Artery
Dorsal artery of the penis, deep artery of the penis, artery of bulb, internal pudendal artery
Vein
Deep dorsal vein, superficial dorsal vein of the penis, vein of bulb, internal pudendal veins
Nerve
Dorsal nerve of the penis, pudendal nerve
Lymph
Superficial inguinal lymph nodes
Latin
penis, pudendum virile, membrum virile
MeSH
D010413
TA98
A09.4.01.001
TA2
3662
FMA
9707
Tables
Occurrence of erection angles · Physiological functions › Sexual stimulation and arousal › Erection › Erection angle
0–30
0–30
Angle (°)from vertically upwards
0–30
Percentof males
4.9
30–60
30–60
Angle (°)from vertically upwards
30–60
Percentof males
29.6
60–85
60–85
Angle (°)from vertically upwards
60–85
Percentof males
30.9
85–95
85–95
Angle (°)from vertically upwards
85–95
Percentof males
9.9
95–120
95–120
Angle (°)from vertically upwards
95–120
Percentof males
19.8
120–180
120–180
Angle (°)from vertically upwards
120–180
Percentof males
4.9
| Angle (°)from vertically upwards | Percentof males |
| 0–30 | 4.9 |
| 30–60 | 29.6 |
| 60–85 | 30.9 |
| 85–95 | 9.9 |
| 95–120 | 19.8 |
| 120–180 | 4.9 |
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