GENITAL CORPUSCLES IN THE HUMAN CLITORIS

Lack of knowledge about the functional anatomy of the clitoris still persists and negatively impacts medical care for girls, women and gender diverse individuals with a clitoris. It maintains harmful practices and beliefs, such as Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), which involve nerve damage. Precise knowledge of clitoral anatomy and histology is crucial in vulvar and vaginal surgeries for malignant and benign conditions, such as urinary incontinence or cysts, as well as in gender affirmation surgeries or reconstructive surgery after FGM/C. In addition, clitoral knowledge has been associated with endorsing less gendered sexual scripts, which shows a positive association with higher pleasure and orgasm experience. This research aims to describe the detailed structure and map the distribution of Krause “pleasure” corpuscles in the clitoris.

Female cadaveric specimen were dissected to obtain their clitoris. Standard immunohistochemistry or tissue clearing were performed on the samples, which were then imaged using widefield, confocal or light-sheet microscopy.

We investigated the innervation of the clitoris and its sensory corpuscular nerve endings. Numerous Krause corpuscles were identified in the clitoris, exhibiting coiled axons surrounded by Schwann cells. Their distribution varies between distal glans, proximal glans and descending body of the clitoris.

Human clitoral tissue can be cleared and imaged, allowing for more precise histological 3D mapping of glans clitoris innervation. More detailed description of the structure of genital corpuscles is necessary to inform future research on their function and role in sexual response.

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.