The uncircumcised penis varies greatly from individual to individual. The definition of an "average" foreskin is hard to find.

• In the faccid state, a foreskin can vary depending on the individual:
  1. Extends well past the tip of the glans (overhang)
  2. Extends just past the glans
  3. Extend to the tip of glans, leaving meatus exposed but not really visible
  4. Leaves the meatus exposed and slightly visible
  5. Covers from 3/4 to almost all
  6. Covers from 2/3 to 3/4
  7. Covers from 1/2 to 2/3
  8. Covers from just the rim to half. This type is quite rare. The foreskin has a tendency to retract fully in those circumctances.
  9. Foreskin stays retracted, bunched up agains the rim. May look like a loosely circumcised penis.

• During erection, the foreskin completely retracts on some males, partially retracts on others and continues to cover almost all of the head or more on some males. Although much of the medical references mention that the foreskin fully retracts by itself during erection, statistics on what percentage of uncircumcised males are in that group are not easy to find.

• During puberty, the foreskin for some males becomes shorter relative to the penis, but there are no easily obtainable statistics on what percentage of males see a significant shortening of the foreskin.

• It is common that the frenulum prevents the foreskin from being retracted far enough behind the glans to show a smooth surface of skin all around. The skin on the ventral side may be tight/smooth (side where frenulum is) whereas the skin on the dorsal side will still show wrinkles.

• The outer foreskin is the same type of skin as the shaft skin. There are therefore 2 types of mobile skin on the penis:the shaft skin and the inner foreskin.

• The inner foreskin is generally less elastic than the outer skin.

• On the adult male, a small portion of the inner foreskin stays flush on the shaft, especilly near the frenulum and thus does not contribute to covering of the glans.

• When contemplating circumcision to ease a phimosis, it is critical to evaluate what portion of the skin system needs to be removed. It does generally corresponds to the tip fo the foreskin whose diametre is generally allowed to shrink to a smaller diametre ahead of the tip of the glans.

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