Illustrations for "Circumcision: How an Ancient Ritual Became a Questionable Surgery"

"In Circumscision, Dr. Kenneth Lipman reveals that there is in fact no religious or medical reason for the surgery, and little discussion of its all-too-common problems. Not one medical organization recommends routine circumcision."

These following illustrations depict penile anatomy as relevant to the topic of circumscision, later elaborating on the thesis of the work where Dr. Lipman offers his perspective that this procedure is ultimately unnecessary and even harmful to overall health.

This work was featured in the 2024 AMI Salon

Fig 1.

A view of a normal adult flaccid uncircumcised penis with surrounding surface anatomy

Fig 2.

Front view of a normal adult uncircumcised penis with labeled surface anatomy

Fig 3.

Steps of foreskin retraction in an intact penis

Fig 4.

Labeled posterior view of the frenular delta in an uncircumcised penis, including the appearance and function of the ridged band, tissue which connects the foreskin to the frenulum

Fig 5.

Comparison of the surface texture of an intact and circumcised penis. The intact penis has the foreskin to protect it and allow the oils from the surrounding glands to give the glans a more shiny appearance. However, the circumcised penis is more keratinized due to the lack of protection of the glans

Fig 6.

Lateral view of an intact and circumcised penis comparing superficial vasculature. The intact penis has veins and arteries extending to the edge of the foreskin while the circumcised penis has them reduced due to the foreskin removal process