Inner mucosa
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The inner mucosa of the penis is the epithelium of the inside of the prepuce and the glans penis. It starts at the ridged band of the prepuce and continues across the glans penis to the opening of the urethra.
The inner mucosa is devoid of hair. The inner mucosa is normally kept moist by the prepuce.
The inner mucosa contains fewer Langerhans cells than elsewhere (Weiss 1993). These cells secrete cytokines (a non-antibody protein that generates an immune response on contact with specific antigens), and are an essential part of the immune system. According to one review (Fleiss 1998), the inner mucosa contains apocrine glans, which secrete cathepsin B, lysosyme, chymotrypsin, neutrophil elastase, and pheromones such as androsterone. The former have protective immunological functions, while the pheromones are postulated to play a role in the sexual arousal of the female. A histological study (Taylor 1996), however, reported that the prepuce contains no sweat glands whatsoever (apocrine glands are a type of sweat gland).
External links
- Prakash S, Raghuram R, Venkatesan, et al. Sub-preputial wetness - Its nature. Ann Nat Med Sci (India) 1982;18(3):109-112. URL: http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/prakash/
- Fleiss P, Hodges F, Van Howe RS. Immunological functions of the human prepuce. Sex Trans Inf 1998;74:364-367. URL: http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/STD/fleiss3/
- Cold CJ, Taylor JR. The prepuce. BJU Int 1999;83 Suppl. 1:34-44. URL: http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-taylor/
- Weiss GN, Sanders M, Westbrook KC. The distribution and density of langerhans cells in the human prepuce: Site of a diminished immune response? Isr J Med Sci. 1993 Jan;29(1):42-3. URL: http://www.drweiss.org/langer.htm