Papules on the glans penis

The glans is located at the very bottom of the penis. It not only controls the urinary system, but also controls the sensitive areas of men. Therefore, this area is very worthy of attention. Some problems must be checked and treated in time. When papules are first discovered on the glans, they may be pearly. Genital papules may also be related to sexually transmitted diseases and viral infections. Reasonable examinations in the hospital are required to make a thorough diagnosis of the condition.

Causes/Pearly Penile Papules

The cause and incidence of penile pearly papules are still unclear. Some scholars believe that this disease is a kind of abnormal physiological development. Some scholars believe that it is related to prepuce. For example, Chen Xue et al. found that the incidence of penile pearly papules in young men with prepuce was significantly higher than that in men with normal prepuce. Some scholars believe that this disease may be related to HPV infection, but Ferenczy et al. and Zhang Kaijin et al. tested HPV in the lesion tissue and found no HPV. The direct cause of this disease may be inflammatory reactions such as local redness and swelling caused by the patient's prepuce, poor local hygiene, long-term stimulation of coronal sulcus secretions and dirt, or other factors such as infection.

The incidence of penile pearly papules varies from report to report. Foreign reports show that the incidence of this disease in the normal male population is 8.3%-30.1%. In China, Chen Fenggang et al. found 159 cases among 239 males (excluding patients with phimosis and STDs), with an incidence of 66.53%. Zhang Kaijin et al. found 220 cases among 917 cases, with an incidence of 24%. Chen Xue et al. found 786 cases among 2037 young men who underwent premarital physical examinations, with an incidence of 37.92%. The author found 109 cases among 276 cases in STD clinics, with an incidence of 39.49%. These survey results all show that penile pearly papules is a common symptom in clinical practice.

Clinical manifestations/Pearly penile papules

Pearly penile papules are more common in men around 20-30 years old. The damage mainly occurs at the edge of the glans penis and the junction of the coronal sulcus and/or the frenulum. The lesions are 1-3mm in size, and the lesions are larger on both sides of the frenulum. The top of the papule is round and smooth, and some papules are hairy or filamentous.

The papules are mostly non-fused, densely arranged in one or more rows, obvious on the dorsal side of the glans, and may partially or completely surround the glans. The color of the lesions is mostly pearly white, a few are light red, skin-colored, and some may appear slightly red and swollen. There is no tenderness, no rupture, and the patient has no conscious symptoms.