Male corpus cavernosum

You may have heard of the corpus cavernosum in your daily life, but you still don't know much about it, such as its specific location and its function. Today, I will introduce you to some details about the male corpus cavernosum in response to the above questions. As an erectile tissue, the corpus cavernosum is not something that men will ignore.

The reaction mechanism of the corpus cavernosum

The third cylinder of the penis is the unpaired urethral corpus cavernosum (Corpus cavernosum, or corPus spongiosum), which is located in the urethral groove on the midline of the ventral surface of the penis, just below the two corpus cavernosum, and is named because the urethra passes through it. It is much smaller than the corpus cavernosum, and its location is the urethral surface of the penis.

During erection, the corpus cavernosum protrudes from the ventral side of the penis, forming a characteristic bulge. At the distal end of the penis, the corpus cavernosum expands and extends to the back, forming a free front cone-shaped crown-like end, the glans penis. The glans penis covers the sharp conical end of the corpus cavernosum penis, which is connected in parallel. In other words, the sharp front end of the corpus cavernosum penis is embedded in the depression on the bottom of the glans penis. The bottom edge of the glans penis protrudes outward and backward, wider than the penis shaft, forming a free convex penis crown (corona glandis). The shallow groove below the edge of the crown is the coronal groove. The penis shaft behind the crown is thinner to form a transverse groove, called the penis neck, also known as the glans neck (collum glandis). The end of the urethra passes through the glans penis and ends at the top of the glans penis, forming a sagittal slit-like opening, the external urethral opening (orificium urethraee xternum). Before circumcision, the glans penis is covered by the foreskin. After circumcision, the glans penis may be partially or completely exposed.

The corpus cavernosum is a type of erectile tissue, which is covered with a thick white membrane on the outside and a sponge-like support composed of connective tissue and smooth muscle on the inside. Its cavity is connected to blood vessels. When the cavity is filled with blood, the penis becomes thicker and harder and becomes erect. There is one corpus cavernosum on the left and one on the right side of the penis, located on the back of the penis. The posterior end of the corpus cavernosum of the penis separates to form the left and right penile crus, which are attached to the inferior pubic branch and the sciatic branch on both sides respectively. The skin of the penis is thin and soft, and the subcutaneous tissue is loose and easy to stretch. However, the skin of the glans penis has no subcutaneous tissue and cannot move. The skin of the penis body moves forward to the penis neck, forming a circular fold that wraps around the penis head, called the foreskin. On the midline of the ventral side of the penis head, the skin fold connecting the foreskin and the external opening of the urethra is called the frenulum. Be careful not to damage this frenulum during circumcision.