Frenulum Breve
UTC
CIRCLIST member’s photograph |
What is it?
The term "Frenulum Breve" translates as "short frenulum" and is well illustrated by the adjacent photograph. The condition can be painful when the penis is erect and sexual activity can cause the frenulum to tear. Due to the presence in the frenulum of a blood vessel, such tearing can cause a significant and messy loss of blood.
What happens to sensitivity when the frenulum is removed?
Some men report that their frenulum is exquisitely sensitive. This has led to the belief that removal of the frenulum must reduce sexual sensitivity. However, men who have had their frenulum removed in adulthood report either no change or an increase in sensitivity. The explanation for this would appear to be that the relevant nerve endings are located in the "groove" of the glans just beneath the attachment point of the frenulum rather than in the frenular tissue itself. However, this has never been proven in anatomical terms.
Does the frenulum have to be removed during circumcision?
The short answer is “No”. Often it is deliberately retained, as in the example of a very prominent frenulum shown here. The patient (age 23) had been circumcised four weeks previously, in a style that deliberately retained both frenulum and a significant proportion of the original inner foreskin. Note that some inner foreskin must be retained if the frenulum is to be retained, otherwise the proximal end of the web of frenular tissue would lose its attachment point.
Prominent frenulum post-circumcision. Image © 2012, MediGlobal 88 |
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