All About Males

External Anatomy

Penis (dick, dink)
The penis is made of spongy tissue and hangs down on the outside of a male’s body. Usually it is soft but sometimes it fills up with blood and gets harder. Penises come in many shapes, sizes and colours; you cannot tell how big it is when it is erect (hard) from its size when flaccid (soft). Some stay about the same while others get longer or wider. If you jump in cold water you will notice your penis shrink as it pulls closer to the body to stay warm.

Penis shaft
The shaft is the part of the penis that runs from the body to the tip of the penis. When the penis is soft or flaccid the skin is loose, stretchy and/or wrinkly. When it gets hard, the skin stretches out and becomes smoother.

Glans (head)
The head of the penis is often slightly wider than the shaft and looks a bit like the head of a mushroom. It has lots of nerve endings and is very sensitive to touch (similar to the clitoris for females). At the tip is the urethral opening.

Urethral Opening (pee hole)
The urethral opening is the smaller hole you see at the end of the penis. This is where pre-ejaculate, semen and urine come out.

Frenulum
Underneath the penis where the shaft meets the head, you can see an indent. This is a very sensitive area for many males.

Foreskin (‘Hood’)
The foreskin is a thin skin that covers the head of the penis when it is soft (it looks like a hood). When the penis gets hard, the foreskin pulls back to just below the head of the penis. Some males are circumcised which means their foreskin has been removed and you can see the head of the penis all the time.

Scrotum (‘Sac’)
The scrotum is the loose skin below the penis that holds the testicles (‘balls’). The scrotum is sensitive to touch and its job is to protect the testicles and help them maintain a temperature ideal for sperm production, a couple degrees lower than body temperature. In hot temperatures, the scrotum hangs down to cool the testicles off and in cool temperatures it pulls up tightly against the body to keep them warm. During puberty hair begins to grow on the scrotum. It’s different for every male – some men have a lot of public hair and some have a little.

Epididymis
Behind each testicle is a coiled tube called the epididymis that stores the sperm until they mature. The epididymis feels like a small uneven bump on the surface of the testicle.

Perineum
This is the area between the scrotum and the anus. Some men find this area pleasurable and sensitive to touch.

Anus (bum hole)
The anus is the opening to the rectum (bum hole). Some men find it sensitive and pleasurable to touch.






Internal Anatomy

Vas Deferens
These are the tubes that carry sperm out of the testes to the urethra. When a man gets a vasectomy, these tubes are cut, pinched or clipped off so the sperm cannot mix with the rest of the fluids that makes up semen.

Seminal Vesicles
These are two small sac-like pouches that attach to the vas deferens. They make a sugar-rich fluid that gives the sperm energy it needs. In fact, this sugary fluid makes up most of the semen when a man ejaculates.

Corpus Cavermosum
Two tubes of spongy erectile tissue that help form the shaft of the penis.

Prostate Gland
The prostate gland is about the size of a walnut though it can get larger as men reach age 40 to 50. It is located inside the body near where the penis starts so it is not easy to feel. It can be felt by inserting a finger inside the rectum and feeling toward the front of your body. As men get older, they will have a doctor do this to check that it feels healthy. It makes a whitish fluid that helps sperm to move and travel in the right direction. This is why semen looks white. The prostrate gland also helps control urination. Many men find stimulation of the prostate pleasurable.

Testicles (Balls)
The testicles are the male sex glands that hang behind the penis and inside the scrotum. They produce sperm and the male hormone testosterone. Testicles are egg shaped and vary in size and shape from one man to the next. Most males have two testicles and one usually hangs lower than the other; however, it is not uncommon to have only one testicle, or as many as three! The testicles are sensitive and that’s why many males wear protective cups when playing sports.

Cowper’s Glands
Two glands located just below the bladder, which produce pre-ejaculate fluid (pre-come).

Pre-Ejaculate (pre-cum)
The fluid released by the Cowper’s gland between the beginning of arousal and ejaculation. There can be just a drop or two, or a bit more of it, and it can contain a very small amount of sperm.

Semen
Semen is the whitish fluid that comes out of the end of the penis when a male ejaculates or “comes”. About one third of the fluid comes from the prostrate gland and the rest comes from the seminal vesicles. Semen has a slightly basic Ph. Inside the fluid is anywhere from 40 to 600 million sperm each time a male ejaculates. This sounds like a lot but they are very tiny. Some men don’t produce sperm or it gets blocked in the testicles but they still ejaculate semen.

Urethra
The urethra is the tube that carries urine (pee), pre-ejaculate and semen out of the body. When a male gets sexually excited, there is a valve that blocks the urine from entering the urethra. Without the valve, urine could damage the sperm with its acidity.