What are the causes of small bumps on the penis?

A man's penis refers to his genitals. Normally, the penis is protected to a certain extent because of the presence of underwear. However, if the underwear is not changed for a long time or for some other reasons, it will cause some problems with the penis, including diseases, etc. For example, some friends find small bumps on their penis. What is going on medically?

Sebaceous ectopy is a sebaceous gland disease first described by Fordyce in 1896, so it is also called Fordyce disease. The disease is caused by physiological variations in the development of sebaceous glands and hyperplasia of sebaceous glands. According to clinical observation, this disease not only occurs in the oral mucosa, but also occurs in the foreskin and glans of men, and the labia majora and minora of women. Ye Zhaolong et al. found 43 cases among the 772 women surveyed, with an incidence rate of 5.57%. The author found 49 cases among 184 women in the STD clinic, with an incidence rate of 26.63%; 76 cases were found among 209 men, with an incidence rate of 36.36%.

Causes

The cause of sebaceous ectopic disease is unknown. It is believed to be related to endocrine factors, local irritation or trauma.

Clinical manifestations

Sebaceous gland ectopy usually occurs after puberty, and is more common in middle-aged people, more common in men than in women. This disease occurs in the external genitalia mainly on the penis shaft, foreskin, frenulum, and rarely on the glans penis in men, and mainly on the labia majora and perineum in women. It can also occur on the sides of the labia majora and other parts of the body where sebaceous glands secrete vigorously. The lesion site is characterized by millet-sized flat papule-like lesions without obvious raised skin, which are distributed in clusters and are mostly light yellow or a few are light white. Some can merge into dense irregular patches with a smooth surface. They can be seen more clearly when the skin is tightened, and feel like fine mud and sand when touched. The lesions are mostly asymptomatic.

Tissue inspection

In histopathology, small and mature sebaceous lobules are mainly seen surrounding the sebaceous ducts. Independent sebaceous glands.

Diagnostic points

The difference between sebaceous dystopia and condyloma acuminatum is:

① Sebaceous gland ectopy is mainly located in the foreskin and labia majora and minora, while condyloma acuminatum is more likely to occur in the coronal sulcus, glans penis, vaginal opening, etc.

② Sebaceous gland ectopy is mostly light yellow with no obvious protrusion from the skin surface, while condyloma acuminatum is mostly light red with cauliflower-like lesions that are obviously protruding from the skin surface;

③ The acetic acid test for sebaceous ectopic disease is negative, while that for condyloma acuminatum is positive;

④ The lesions of sebaceous ectopic disease do not increase in size after long-term observation, but the lesions of condyloma acuminatum may increase in size significantly in a short period of time;

⑤ Characteristics of histopathological examination.