The Sex Organs - The Female Sex Organs

The External Sex Organs

The Clitoris
The tip or glans of the clitoris (gr. kleitoris: little elevation) is located below the Mons Veneris at the point where the minor lips meet, forming a foreskin or prepuce. Externally visible under this foreskin is the glans of the clitoris. The body or shaft of the clitoris is a short cylindrical organ composed mainly of erectile tissue, i.e., of two spongy bodies (lat. corpora cavernosa) which can quickly fill with blood and thus cause the entire organ to stiffen and increase in size. Following it further inside, the clitoral shaft divides into two legs, each of which lies next to a bulb on either side of the vagina, and all of these structures swell under sexual stimulation. This is also true of spongy tissue surrounding the urethra.

Interior view of the clitoris and surrounding erectile tissue

The glans
The glans of the clitoris is partly covered by the clitoral hood or foreskin. It is possible for genital secretions (smegma) to accumulate under this foreskin, thus causing irritation and other problems. The glans is extremely sensitive to the touch as it is studded with innumerable nerve endings. Unlike the penis, however, the excited head of clitoris does not protrude but retracts under its hood. The clitoris is easily excitable by mechanical stimulation, and it plays an essential role in a woman's sexual excitement.

A pleasure organ
The average length of a clitoral shaft in its unexcited state is less than an inch and most of it is hidden from view. However, in the state of excitement it may swell to twice its usual diameter, and the rest of the tissue swells accordingly. This entire system of erectile tissue might correctly be called clitoral system or clitoris for short. This would also make the parallels to the penis much more obvious, even with regard to size. Furthermore, the clitoris is obviously the principal female pleasure organ, and it has no reproductive function.

An internal organ
All in all, the clitoris is more an internal than an external sex organ. It is listed here among the external organs only according to a now obsolete textbook tradition.