View source for Clitoris

{{short description|Erectile female sexual organ}}
{{Redirect|Clit}}
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{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Clitoris
| Latin       = clitoris
| Greek     = κλειτορίς
| Image    = Clitoris glans - detailed.jpg
| Caption    = Human clitoris. [[Pubic hair]] has been deliberately removed to show anatomical detail. Location of (1) [[clitoral hood]] and (2) [[#Glans|clitoral glans]] (the [[#Body|clitoral body]] is beneath the hood).
| Width         =
| Image2       =
| Caption2    =
| Precursor   = [[Genital tubercle]]
| System      =
| Part_of     = [[Vulva]]
| Artery      = [[Dorsal artery of clitoris]], [[deep artery of clitoris]], [[artery of bulb of vestibule|artery of bulb]], [[internal pudendal artery]]
| Vein        = [[Superficial dorsal veins of clitoris]], [[deep dorsal vein of clitoris]], [[vein of bulb of vestibule|vein of bulb]], [[internal pudendal veins]]
| Nerve       = [[Dorsal nerve of clitoris]], [[pudendal nerve]]
| Lymph       =
|Alt=Human clitoris. Pubic hair has been deliberately removed to show anatomical detail.}}

In [[amniote]]s, the '''clitoris''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=Clitoris pronunciation 1.ogg|ˈ|k|l|ɪ|t|ər|ɪ|s}} {{respell|KLIT|ər|iss}} or {{IPAc-en|audio=Clitoris pronunciation 2.ogg|k|l|ɪ|ˈ|t|ɔər|ɪ|s}} {{respell|klih|TOR|iss}}; {{plural form}}: '''clitorises''' or '''clitorides''') is a female [[sex organ]].<ref name="Goodman_Roughgarden_Wingfield" /> In humans, it is the [[vulva]]'s most [[erogenous zone|erogenous]] area and generally the primary anatomical source of female [[Human sexuality|sexual]] pleasure.<ref name="Rodgers_O'Connell_Greenberg_Weiten_Carroll" /> The clitoris is a complex structure, and its size and sensitivity can vary. The visible portion, the glans, of the clitoris is typically roughly the size and shape of a pea and is estimated to have more than 10,000 [[Nerve|nerve endings]].<ref name="Carroll_Di Marino" /><ref name="ohsu/10-000-nerve">
* {{cite web |last1 = White |first1 = Franny |title = Pleasure-producing human clitoris has more than 10,000 nerve fibers |url = https://news.ohsu.edu/2022/10/27/pleasure-producing-human-clitoris-has-more-than-10-000-nerve-fibers |website = News |publisher = [[Oregon Health & Science University]] |access-date = 2 November 2022 |language = en |date = 27 October 2022 |quote = Blair Peters, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine and a plastic surgeon who specializes in gender-affirming care as part of the OHSU Transgender Health Program, led the research and presented the findings. Peters obtained clitoral nerve tissue from seven adult transmasculine volunteers who underwent gender-affirming genital surgery. Tissues were dyed and magnified 1,000 times under a microscope so individual nerve fibers could be counted with the help of image analysis software. |archive-date = 1 November 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221101145100/https://news.ohsu.edu/2022/10/27/pleasure-producing-human-clitoris-has-more-than-10-000-nerve-fibers |url-status = live }}
* Peters, B; Uloko, M; Isabey, P; [https://www1.statusplus.net/misc/prog-management/v2/general/abstract/5850?persons=4928&pm=23 How many Nerve Fibers Innervate the Human Clitoris? A Histomorphometric Evaluation of the Dorsal Nerve of the Clitoris] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102083626/https://www1.statusplus.net/misc/prog-management/v2/general/abstract/5850?persons=4928&pm=23 |date=2 November 2022 }} 2 p.m. ET 27 October 2022, 23rd annual joint scientific meeting of Sexual Medicine Society of North America and [[International Society for Sexual Medicine]]</ref>

[[Sexology|Sexological]], medical, and psychological debate has focused on the clitoris,<ref name="Moore_Blechner_Shrage" /> and it has been subject to [[social constructionist]] analyses and studies.<ref name="Moore_Wade_Labuski" /> Such discussions range from anatomical accuracy, [[gender inequality]], [[female genital mutilation]], and [[orgasm]]ic factors and their physiological explanation for the [[G-spot]].<ref name="Shrage_Schwartz_Wood_Blechner" /> The only known purpose of the human clitoris is to provide sexual pleasure.<ref name="Rodgers_O'Connell_Kilchevsky" />

Knowledge of the clitoris is significantly affected by its cultural perceptions. Studies suggest that knowledge of its existence and anatomy is scant in comparison with that of other sexual organs (especially male sex organs)<ref name="Balcombe" /> and that more education about it could help alleviate [[social stigma|stigmas]], such as the idea that the clitoris and vulva in general are visually unappealing or that [[female masturbation]] is [[taboo]] and disgraceful.<ref name="Ogletree_Wade_Waskul" /><ref name="The Wall Street Journal" /><ref name="Moye" />

The clitoris is [[Homology (biology)|homologous]] to the majority of the [[Human penis|penis]] in males.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tortora |first1=Gerard J |last2=Anagnostakos |first2=Nicholas P |title=Principles of anatomy and physiology |date=1987 |publisher=Harper & Row |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-046669-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/principlesofanat05tort/page/727 727]–728 |edition=5th |url=https://archive.org/details/principlesofanat05tort |url-access=registration }}</ref>

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== Etymology and terminology ==
<!-- NOTE: Though the "Society and culture" section partially deals with terms for the clitoris, it seems that the information there and therefore these two sections are better kept separate, considering that the terms in the latter section are thoroughly intertwined with historical beliefs about the clitoris's structure. Below, this section directs readers to that material. -->

The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] states that the [[Neo-Latin]] word ''clītoris'' likely has its origin in the [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|κλειτορίς}} ({{Transliteration|grc|kleitorís}}), which means "little hill", and perhaps derived from the verb {{lang|grc|κλείειν}} ({{Transliteration|grc|kleíein}}), meaning "to shut" or "to sheathe".<ref name="OED" /><ref name="OEtymD" /> ''Clitoris'' is also related to the Greek word {{lang|grc|κλείς}} ({{Transliteration|grc|kleís}}), "key", "indicating that the ancient anatomists considered it the key" to female sexuality.<ref name="Sloane 2002 pp32-33"/><ref name="Basavanthappa"/> In addition, the [[Online Etymology Dictionary]] suggests other Greek candidates for this word's etymology include a noun meaning "latch" or "hook" or a verb meaning "to touch or titillate lasciviously", "to tickle".<ref name="OEtymD" /> The Oxford English Dictionary also states that the colloquially shortened form ''clit'', the first occurrence of which was noted in the United States, has been used in print since 1958: until then, the common abbreviation was ''clitty''.<ref name="OED" /> Other slang terms for clitoris are ''bean'', ''nub'', and ''love button''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Green |first=Jonathon |title = Cassell's Dictionary of Slang | publisher =Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year = 2005|page=82 |isbn= 978-0-30436-636-1 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=5GpLcC4a5fAC&pg=PA82}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Victor |first1=Terry |last2= Dalzell|first2= Tom|title = The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English | publisher =Taylor & Francis |year = 2015|page=1601 |isbn= 978-1-31737-252-3 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=bbcBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1601}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Victor |first1=Terry |last2= Dalzell|title = The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English | publisher = Taylor & Francis |year = 2014|page=491 |isbn= 978-1-31762-512-4 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=h0mcBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA491}}</ref> The term {{em|clitoris}} is commonly used to refer to the glans alone.<ref name="O'Connell" /> In recent anatomical works, the clitoris has also been referred to as the '''bulbo-clitoral organ'''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stecco |first1=Carla|last2=Driscoll|first2=Mark|last3=Huijing|first3=Peter|last4=Schleip|first4=Robert |title = Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body - E-Book | publisher =Elsevier Health Sciences |year = 2021|page=129 |isbn= 978-0-70208-413-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GrNTEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA129}}</ref>

== Structure ==

[[File:Clitoral anatomy updated.jpg|thumb|The internal anatomy of the clitoris, with the [[clitoral hood]] and [[labia minora]] indicated as lines.]]

Most of the clitoris is composed of internal parts. Regarding humans, it consists of the [[#Glans|glans]], the [[#Body|body]] (which is composed of two [[Erectile tissue|erectile]] structures known as the [[Corpus cavernosum of clitoris|corpora cavernosa]]), the [[clitoral hood|prepuce]], and the [[#Root|root]]. The [[#Frenulum|frenulum]] is beneath the glans.<ref name="Sloane_Crooks_Angier_Jones" />

Research indicates that clitoral tissue extends into the [[vagina]]l anterior wall.<ref name="O'Connell 2006_Kilchevsky_Di Marino" /> Şenaylı et al. said that the [[Histology|histological]] evaluation of the clitoris, "especially of the corpora cavernosa, is incomplete because for many years the clitoris was considered a rudimentary and nonfunctional organ". They added that Baskin and colleagues examined the clitoris' [[Virilization|masculinization]] after dissection and using imaging software after [[Masson's trichrome stain]]ing, put the serial dissected specimens together; this revealed that nerves surround the whole clitoral body.<ref name="Şenaylı" />

The clitoris, its [[vestibular bulbs|bulbs]], labia minora, and [[urethra]] involve two histologically distinct types of vascular tissue (tissue related to [[blood vessel]]s), the first of which is [[trabecula]]ted, [[erectile tissue]] innervated by the [[cavernous nerves]]. The trabeculated tissue has a [[Spongy tissue|spongy appearance]]; along with blood, it fills the large, dilated vascular spaces of the clitoris and the bulbs. Beneath the [[epithelium]] of the vascular areas is [[Smooth muscle tissue|smooth muscle]].<ref name="Ginger" /> As indicated by Yang et{{nbsp}}al.'s research, it may also be that the urethral [[Lumen (anatomy)|lumen]] (the inner open space or cavity of the urethra), which is surrounded by a spongy tissue, has tissue that "is grossly distinct from the vascular tissue of the clitoris and bulbs, and on macroscopic observation, is paler than the dark tissue" of the clitoris and bulbs.<ref name="Yang" /> The second type of vascular tissue is non-erectile, which may consist of blood vessels that are dispersed within a fibrous matrix and have only a minimal amount of smooth muscle.<ref name="Ginger" />

=== Glans === 
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Clitoral glans
| Latin       = glans clitoridis
| Image       = Glans clitoris.jpg
| Caption     = A fully exposed human clitoral glans, shown below the hood
| Image2      =
| Caption2    =
| Precursor   = [[Genital tubercle]]
| System      =
| Part_of    =
| Artery      = [[Dorsal artery of clitoris|Dorsal arteries of clitoris]]
| Vein        = [[Deep dorsal vein of clitoris|Dorsal veins of clitoris]]
| Nerve       = [[Dorsal nerve of clitoris]]
| Lymph       =
}}

Highly [[Nerve|innervated]], the '''clitoral glans''' (''glans'' means "acorn" in [[Latin]]),<ref>{{cite book|last=Hodgson|first=Charles|title = Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia | publisher = St. Martin's Publishing Group |year = 2015|page=179|isbn= 978-1-46689-043-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=g5nYBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA179}}</ref> also known as the "head" or "tip",<ref>{{cite book|last=Kinsey|first=Alfred C.|title = Sexual Behavior in the Human Female | publisher = Indiana University Press |year = 1998|page=574|isbn= 978-0-25333-411-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9GpBB61LV14C&pg=PA574}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Waters|first=Sophie|title = Seeing the Gynecologist | publisher = Rosen Publishing Group |year = 2007|page=17|isbn= 978-1-40421-948-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p_FzX7mR8dkC&pg=PA17}}</ref> exists at the anterior side of the clitoral body as a [[Fiber|fibro-vascular]] cap<ref name="Ginger" /> and is usually the size and shape of a pea, although it is sometimes much larger or smaller. The glans is separated from the clitoral body by a ridge of tissue called the ''corona''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iglesia|first=Cheryl B.|title = Medical and Advanced Surgical Management of Pelvic Floor Disorders, An Issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology | publisher = Elselvier Health Sciences |year = 2016|page=35|isbn= 978-0-32341-656-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=J0zGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Quicke|first=Donald Lambert Jesse|title = Female Arousal and Orgasm: Anatomy, Physiology, Behaviour and Evolution | publisher = Bentham Science Publishers |year = 2023|page=65|isbn= 978-9-81512-464-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MaPsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA65}}</ref> The clitoral glans is estimated to have 8,000 and possibly 10,000 or more [[sensory nerve]] endings, making it the most sensitive [[erogenous zone]].<ref name="Carroll_Di Marino" /><ref name="ohsu/10-000-nerve" /> The glans also has numerous [[genital corpuscle]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Olausson |first1=Håkan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ5DDQAAQBAJ&dq=glans&pg=PA306 |title=Affective Touch and the Neurophysiology of CT Afferents |last2=Wessberg |first2=Johan |last3=Morrison |first3=India |last4=McGlone |first4=Francis |date=2016-10-14 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4939-6418-5 |language=en}}</ref> Research conflicts on whether the glans is composed of erectile or non-erectile tissue. Some sources describe the clitoral glans and labia minora as composed of non-erectile tissue; this is especially the case for the glans.<ref name="O'Connell" /><ref name="Ginger" /> They state that the clitoral glans and labia minora have blood vessels that are dispersed within a fibrous matrix and have only a minimal amount of smooth muscle,<ref name="Ginger" /> or that the clitoral glans is "a midline, densely neural, non-erectile structure".<ref name="O'Connell" /> The clitoral glans is homologous to the male [[glans penis|penile glans]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chapple|first1=Christopher R.|last2=Steers|first2=William D.|title = Practical Urology: Essential Principles and Practice | publisher = Springer London |year = 2011|page=67|access-date = September 29, 2023 |isbn= 978-1-84882-034-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=A9m8TkdCUqEC&pg=PA67}}</ref>

Other descriptions of the glans assert that it is composed of erectile tissue and that erectile tissue is present within the labia minora.<ref name="Yang_Wilkinson_Farage" /> The glans may be noted as having glandular vascular spaces that are not as prominent as those in the clitoral body, with the spaces being separated more by smooth muscle than in the body and crura.<ref name="Yang" /> [[Adipose tissue]] is absent in the labia minora, but the organ may be described as being made up of [[dense connective tissue]], erectile tissue and [[elastic fiber]]s.<ref name="Yang_Wilkinson_Farage" />

=== Frenulum ===
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Clitoral frenulum
| Latin       = frenulum clitoridis
| Image       = External clitoris.jpg
| Caption     = Frenulum of the clitoris located at 3
| Image2      =
| Caption2    =
}}

The '''clitoral frenulum''' or '''frenum''' ('''''frenulum clitoridis''''' and '''''crus glandis clitoridis''''' in Latin; the former meaning "little bridle")<ref name=Mohamed>{{cite book|last=Baky Fahmy|first=Mohamed|title = Normal and Abnormal Prepuce | publisher = Springer International Publishing |year = 2020|pages=269–283|access-date = October 29, 2023 |isbn= 978-3-03037-621-5 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FkHVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA282}}</ref> is a medial band of tissue formed between the undersurface of the glans and the top ends of the labia minora.<ref name=Mohamed/><ref name="Sloane_O'Connell_Crooks_Ginger" /> It is homologous to the [[penile frenulum]] in males.<ref name=Mohamed/> The frenulum's main function is to maintain the clitoris in its innate position.<ref name=Mohamed/>

=== Body ===
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Body of the clitoris
| Latin       = corpus clitoridis
| Image       = Clitoral diagram.jpg
| Caption     = Diagram of clitoris. Body (labeled as "shaft") at the top.
| Image2      =
| Caption2    =
| Precursor   = [[Genital tubercle]]
| System      =
| Part_of    = 
| Artery      =
| Vein        =
| Nerve       =
| Lymph       =

}}

The '''clitoral body''' (also known as the '''shaft of the clitoris''')<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gormley-Fleming|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Peate|first2=Ian|title = Fundamentals of Children and Young People's Anatomy and Physiology: A Textbook for Nursing and Healthcare Students | publisher = Wiley |year = 2021|page=307|access-date = September 29, 2023 |isbn= 978-1-11961-924-6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7cYrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA307}}</ref><ref name=Rodgers/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Buy|first1=Jean|last2=Ghossain|first2=Michel|title = Gynecological Imaging: A Reference Guide to Diagnosis | publisher = Springer Berlin Heidelberg|year = 2013|page=31|access-date = October 11, 2023 |isbn= 978-3-64231-012-6 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa1GAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31}}</ref> is a portion behind the glans that contains the union of the [[Corpus cavernosum of clitoris|corpora cavernosa]], a pair of sponge-like regions of erectile tissue that hold most of the blood in the clitoris during [[Clitoral erection|erection]]. It is homologous to the [[Body of penis|penile shaft]] in the male.<ref name=Rodgers/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Greenberg |first1=Jerrold S. |last2=Bruess |first2=Clint E. |last3=Oswalt |first3=Sara B. |title=Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |year=2014 |page=259 |access-date=September 29, 2023 |isbn=978-1-44964-851-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hm3aTuANFroC&pg=PA259}}</ref> The two corpora forming the clitoral body are surrounded by thick fibro-elastic tunica albuginea, a sheath of connective tissue. These corpora are separated incompletely from each other in the midline by a fibrous pectiniform septum{{snds}}a comblike band of connective tissue extending between the corpora cavernosa.<ref name="Şenaylı" /><ref name="Ginger" /> The clitoral body is also connected to the [[pubic symphysis]] by the [[Suspensory ligament of clitoris|suspensory ligament]].

The body of the clitoris is a bent shape, which makes the clitoral angle or elbow.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nagy|first=D.|title = Radiological anatomy | publisher = Elsevier Science |year = 2013|page=345|isbn= 978-1-48328-076-9 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uTjgBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA345}}</ref>{{sfn|Di Marino|2014|p=46}} The angle divides the body into the ascending part (internal) near the pubic symphysis and the descending part (external), which can be seen and felt through the clitoral hood.<ref>{{cite book|last=Quicke|first=Donald Lambert Jesse|title = Female Arousal and Orgasm: Anatomy, Physiology, Behaviour and Evolution | publisher = Bentham Science Publishers |year = 2023|pages=56–57|isbn= 978-9-81512-464-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MaPsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Reiffenstuhl|first1=Günther|last2=Platzer|first2=Werner|last3=Platzer|first3=Warner|last4=Knapstein|first4=Paul Georg|last5=Imig|first5=John R.|title = Vaginal Operations: Surgical Anatomy and Technique | publisher = Williams & Wilkins |year = 1996|page=4|isbn=978-9-81512-464-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=st9sAAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Sloane_Crooks_Angier_Jones" />

=== Root ===
[[File:Root of clitoris.jpg|thumb|Root of the clitoris in 1; 2 crus, 3 bulb]]
Lying in the [[perineum]] (space between the vulva and [[Human anus|anus]]) and within the [[superficial perineal pouch]] is the '''root of the clitoris''', which consists of the posterior ends of the clitoris, the [[Crus of clitoris|crura]] and the [[bulbs of vestibule]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Vishram |title=Textbook of Anatomy- Abdomen and Lower Limb, Volume 2- E-Book|year=2023 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lELGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA215|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |isbn=978-3-66243-680-6}}</ref>

The crura ("legs") are the parts of the corpora cavernosa extending from the clitoral body and form an upside-down "V" shape. Each crus (singular form of crura) is attached to the corresponding [[Ischium|ischial ramus]]{{snds}}extensions of the corpora beneath the descending pubic rami.<ref name="Şenaylı" /><ref name="Ginger" /> Concealed behind the labia minora, the crura end with attachment at or just below the middle of the [[pubic arch]].{{refn|"The long, narrow crura arise from the inferior surface of the ischiopubic rami and fuse just below the middle of the pubic arch."<ref name="Cunningham" />|group="N"|name="quote_Cunningham"}}<ref name="Farage" /> Associated are the [[urethral sponge]], [[perineal sponge]], a network of nerves and blood vessels, the suspensory ligament of the clitoris, muscles and the [[pelvic floor]].<ref name="Ginger" /><ref name="Francoeur" />

The vestibular bulbs are more closely related to the clitoris than the [[Vulval vestibule|vestibule]] because of the similarity of the trabecular and erectile tissue within the clitoris and its bulbs, and the absence of trabecular tissue in other parts of the vulva, with the erectile tissue's trabecular nature allowing engorgement and expansion during sexual arousal.<ref name="Ginger" /><ref name="O'Connell 2006" /> The vestibular bulbs are typically described as lying close to the crura on either side of the [[vaginal opening]]; internally, they are beneath the labia majora. The anterior sections of the bulbs unite to create the bulbar commissure, which forms a long strip of erectile tissue dubbed the infra-corporeal residual spongy part (RSP)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=Irwin |last2=Meston |first2=Cindy M. |last3=Davis |first3=Susan | last4=Traish |first4=Abdulmaged|title= Women's Sexual Function and Dysfunction: Study, Diagnosis and Treatment |publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2006 |page=675 |isbn= 978-1-84214-263-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3J7TnwpbZQwC&pg=PA675}}</ref>{{sfn|Di Marino|2014|pp=51–52}} that expands from the ventral shaft and terminates as the glans. The RSP is also connected to the shaft via the pars intermedia (venous plexus of [[Georg Ludwig Kobelt|Kobelt]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Clemente|first=Carmine D.|title = Clemente's Anatomy Dissector: Guides to Individual Dissections in Human Anatomy with Brief Relevant Clinical Notes (applicable for Most Curricula)| publisher = Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health|year = 2010|page=205|access-date = September 29, 2023 |isbn= 978-1-60831-384-6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=V-M4CUkkZB0C&dq=%E2%80%9Cvestibular+bulbs%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%9Cpenile+bulb%E2%80%9D&pg=PA138}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=FIPAT Federative International Programme |title = Terminologia Embryologica: International Embryological Terminology | publisher = Thieme|year = 2013|page=78 |isbn= 978-3-13170-151-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nKxgvsOlhRYC&pg=PA78}}</ref> When engorged with blood, the bulbs cuff the vaginal opening and cause the vulva to expand outward.<ref name="Ginger" /> Although several texts state that they surround the vaginal opening, Ginger et{{nbsp}}al. state that this does not appear to be the case and tunica albuginea does not envelop the erectile tissue of the bulbs.<ref name="Ginger" /> In Yang et al.'s assessment of the bulbs' anatomy, they conclude that the bulbs "arch over the distal urethra, outlining what might be appropriately called the 'bulbar urethra' in women".<ref name="Yang" />

=== Hood ===

[[File:Ausprägung der Klitorisvorhaut.jpg|thumb|The clitoral hood has a normal anatomical variation in size and appearance in different women: For some, it is completely covered by the labia majora and hidden within the [[pudendal cleft|vulvar cleft]] when standing with their legs closed (top row), while in others, it is pronounced and visible (bottom row).]]

The [[clitoral hood]] or prepuce projects at [[Labia majora#Commissures|the front of the labia commissure]], where the edges of the [[labia majora]] meet at the base of the [[pubic mound]]. It is partially formed by fusion of the upper [[labia minora]]. The hood's function is to cover and protect the glans and external shaft.<ref name="Sloane_Kahn_Crooks" /> There is considerable variation in how much of the glans protrudes from the hood and how much is covered by it, ranging from completely covered to fully exposed,<ref name="Verkauf" /> and tissue of the labia minora also encircles the base of the glans.<ref name="O'Connell 2006" />

=== Size and length ===

There is no identified correlation between the size of the glans or clitoris as a whole, and a woman's age, height, weight, use of [[hormonal contraception]], or being [[Menopause#Postmenopause|postmenopausal]], although women who have given birth may have significantly larger clitoral measurements.<ref name="Verkauf_Farage" /> [[Centimetre]] and [[millimetre]] measurements of the clitoris show variations in size. The clitoral glans has been cited as typically varying from 2&nbsp;mm to 1&nbsp;cm (less than an inch) and usually being estimated at 4 to 5&nbsp;mm in both the transverse and longitudinal planes.<ref name="Alexander" />

A 1992 study concluded that the total clitoral length, including glans and body, is {{convert|16.0|+/-|4.3|mm|in|abbr=on}}, where {{convert|16|mm|in|abbr=on}} is the mean and {{convert|4.3|mm|in|abbr=on}} is the standard deviation.<ref name="Verkauf" /> Concerning other studies, researchers from the [[Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital]] in London measured the [[labia]] and other genital structures of 50 women from the age of 18 to 50, with a [[mean]] age of 35.6., from 2003 to 2004, and the results given for the clitoral glans were 3{{ndash}}10&nbsp;mm for the range and 5.5 [1.7] mm for the mean.<ref name="Lloyd pp643–646" /> Other research indicates that the clitoral body can measure {{convert|5|-|7|cm|in}} in length, while the clitoral body and crura together can be {{convert|10|cm|in}} or more in length.<ref name="Ginger" />

== Development ==
{{See also|Development of the reproductive system}}
[[File:Human genitalia - development 1.png|thumb|Development of external genitals showing [[Homology (biology)|homologues]] from ''indifferent'' to both sexes - female on right]]

The clitoris develops from a [[Primordial phallus|phallic]] outgrowth in the embryo called the [[genital tubercle]]. In the absence of [[testosterone]], the genital tubercle allows for the formation of the clitoris; the initially rapid growth of the phallus gradually slows and the body and glans of the clitoris are formed along with its other structures.<ref name="Sloane_Merz_Schünke" />

== Function ==

=== Sexual stimulation and arousal ===

The clitoris has an abundance of nerve endings, and is the human female's most [[erogenous zone|erogenous]] part of the body.<ref name="Rodgers_O'Connell_Greenberg_Weiten_Carroll" /> When [[sexually stimulated]], it may incite [[sexual arousal]], which may result from mental stimulation ([[sexual fantasy]]), activity with a [[sexual partner]], or [[masturbation]], and can lead to [[orgasm]].<ref name="Francoeur_Carroll_Rosenthal"/> The most effective sexual stimulation of this organ is usually [[Fingering (sexual act)|manually]] or [[Cunnilingus|orally]], which is often referred to as direct clitoral stimulation;<!-- NOTE: Reliable sources often clarify what direct clitoral stimulation is; this line is sourced with the following combined line because placing the references beside both lines is considered unnecessary over-referencing. See Wikipedia:Citation overkill, which is also why a lot of the sources in this article are bundled/merged. --> in cases involving [[sexual penetration]], these activities may also be referred to as additional or assisted clitoral stimulation.<ref name="Rosenthal_Weiten_Greenberg_Lloyd_Flaherty_Kaplan" />

Direct stimulation involves physical stimulation to the external anatomy of the clitoris{{snds}}glans, hood, and shaft.<ref name="BWH_O'Connell_Krychman_Greenberg_Carroll" /> Stimulation of the labia minora, due to it being connected with the glans and hood, may have the same effect as direct clitoral stimulation.<ref name="Kahn" /> Though these areas may also receive indirect physical stimulation during [[sexual activity]], such as when in friction with the labia majora,<ref name="Casper_Crooks_Carroll" /> indirect clitoral stimulation is more commonly attributed to [[Sexual intercourse|penile-vaginal penetration]].<ref name="Clitoris" /><ref name="Kaplan_Lloyd" /> [[Anal sex|Penile-anal]] penetration may also indirectly stimulate the clitoris by the shared [[sensory nerve]]s (especially the [[pudendal nerve]], which gives off the [[inferior anal nerves]] and divides into two terminal branches: the [[perineal nerve]] and the [[Dorsal nerve of clitoris|dorsal nerve of the clitoris]]).<ref name="Answer" />

Due to the glans' high sensitivity, direct stimulation to it is not always pleasurable; instead, direct stimulation to the hood or near the glans is often more pleasurable, with the majority of women preferring to use the hood to stimulate the glans, or to have the glans rolled between the labia, for indirect touch.<ref name="Carroll_Crooks_Hooper_Reinisch_Roberts" /> It is also common for women to enjoy the shaft being softly caressed in concert with the occasional circling of the glans. This might be with or without digital penetration of the vagina, while other women enjoy having the entire vulva caressed.<ref name="Carroll 2012 pp110-111, 252" /> As opposed to the use of dry fingers, stimulation from well-lubricated fingers, either by [[vaginal lubrication]] or a [[personal lubricant]], is usually more pleasurable for the external clitoris.<ref name="Carroll 2009 p264" /><ref name="Rosenthal 2012 p271" />

As the clitoris' external location does not allow for direct stimulation by penetration, any external clitoral stimulation while in the [[missionary position]] usually results from the [[pubic bone]] area. As such, some couples may engage in the [[Woman on top (sex position)|woman-on-top]] position or the [[coital alignment technique]], a [[sex position]] combining the "riding high" variation of the missionary position with pressure-counterpressure movements performed by each partner in rhythm with sexual penetration, to maximize clitoral stimulation.<ref name="Roberts 2006 p145" /><ref name="Greenberg p96" /> Same-sex female couples may engage in [[tribadism]] (vulva-to-vulva or vulva-to-body rubbing) for ample or mutual clitoral stimulation during whole-body contact.{{refn|"A common variation is 'tribadism,' where two women lie face to face, one on top of the other. The genitals are pressed tightly together while the partners move in a grinding motion. Some rub their clitoris against their partner's pubic bone."<ref name="Westheimer" />|group="N"|name="quote_Westheimer"}}<ref name="Carroll 2009 p272" /><ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 p239" /> Pressing the penis in a gliding or circular motion against the clitoris or stimulating it by the movement against another body part may also be practiced.<ref name="Hite 2003 pp277-284" /><ref name="Halberstam_Greenberg" /> A [[Vibrator (sex toy)|vibrator]] (such as a [[clitoral vibrator]]), [[dildo]] or other [[sex toy]] may be used.<ref name="Hite 2003 pp277-284" /><ref name="Taormino" /> Other women stimulate the clitoris by use of a pillow or other inanimate object, by a jet of water from the faucet of a bathtub or shower, or by closing their legs and rocking.<ref name="Hooper 2001 p68" /><ref name="Hite 2003 p99" /><ref name="Hyde" />

[[File:1116 Muscle of the Female Perineum.png|thumb|Muscles underlying the clitoris and perineum]]

[[File:Female vulva 4.jpg|thumb|A flaccid (left) and erect clitoris (right)]]

During sexual arousal, the clitoris and the rest of the vulva engorge and change color as the [[erectile tissue]]s fill with blood ([[vasocongestion]]), and the individual experiences [[vaginal contraction]]s.<ref name="Sloane_Archer_Porst" /> The [[ischiocavernosus muscle|ischiocavernosus]] and [[Bulbospongiosus muscle|bulbocavernosus muscles]], which insert into the corpora cavernosa, contract and compress the dorsal vein of the clitoris (the only vein that drains the blood from the spaces in the corpora cavernosa), and the arterial blood continues a steady flow and having no way to drain out, fills the venous spaces until they become turgid and engorged with blood. This is what leads to [[clitoral erection]].<ref name="Sloane 2002 pp32-33" /><ref name="Porst" />

The prepuce has retracted and the glans becomes more visible. The glans doubles in diameter upon arousal and further stimulation becomes less visible as it is covered by the swelling of the clitoral hood.<ref name="Sloane_Archer_Porst" /><ref name="Roberts 2006 p42" /> The swelling protects the glans from direct contact, as direct contact at this stage can be more irritating than pleasurable.<ref name="Roberts 2006 p42" /><ref name="Reinisch_McAnulty" /> Vasocongestion eventually triggers a muscular reflex, which expels the blood that was trapped in surrounding tissues, and leads to an orgasm.<ref name="Rosenthal 2012 p133" /> A short time after stimulation has stopped, especially if orgasm has been achieved, the glans becomes visible again and returns to its normal state,<ref name="Reinisch" /> with a few seconds (usually 5{{ndash}}10) to return to its normal position and 5{{ndash}}10 minutes to return to its original size.{{refn|"Within a few seconds the clitoris returns to its normal position, and after 5{{ndash}}10 minutes shrinks to its normal size."<ref name="Dennerstein" />|group="N"|name="quote_Dennerstein"}}<ref name="Roberts 2006 p42" /><ref name="Fogel" /> If orgasm is not achieved, the clitoris may remain engorged for a few hours, which women often find uncomfortable.<ref name="Roberts 2006 p145" /> Additionally, the clitoris is very sensitive after orgasm, making further stimulation initially painful for some women.<ref name="Carroll_Rosenthal_Archer_Dennerstein" />

==== Clitoral and vaginal orgasmic factors ====
{{Further|Orgasm#Females}}

General statistics indicate that 70{{ndash}}80 percent of women require direct clitoral stimulation (consistent manual, oral, or other concentrated friction against the external parts of the clitoris) to reach orgasm.{{refn|"Most women report the inability to achieve orgasm with vaginal intercourse and require direct clitoral stimulation&nbsp;... About 20% have coital climaxes&nbsp;..."<ref name="Kammerer-Doak" />|group="N"|name="quote_Kammerer-Doak"}}{{refn|"Women rated clitoral stimulation as at least somewhat more important than vaginal stimulation in achieving orgasm; only about 20% indicated that they did not require additional clitoral stimulation during intercourse."<ref name="Mah" />|group="N"|name="quote_Mah"}}{{refn|"a. The amount of time of sexual arousal needed to reach orgasm is variable&nbsp;– and usually much longer&nbsp;– in women than in men; thus, only 20–30% of women attain a coital climax. b. Many women (70–80%) require manual clitoral stimulation&nbsp;..."<ref name="Flaherty" />|group="N"|name="quote_Flaherty"}}<ref name="Lloyd_Rosenthal" /> Indirect clitoral stimulation (for example, by means of vaginal penetration) may also be sufficient for female orgasm.{{refn|"In sum, it seems that approximately 25% of women always have orgasm with intercourse, while a narrow majority of women have orgasm with intercourse more than half the time&nbsp;... According to the general statistics, cited in Chapter 2, [women who can consistently and easily have orgasms during unassisted intercourse] represent perhaps 20% of the adult female population, and thus cannot be considered representative."<ref name="Lloyd pp21-53" />|group="N"|name="quote_Lloyd"}}<ref name="O'Connell" /><ref name="Acton" /> The area near the entrance of the vagina (the lower third) contains nearly 90&nbsp;percent of the vaginal nerve endings, and there are areas in the anterior vaginal wall and between the top junction of the labia minora and the [[urinary meatus]] that are especially sensitive, but intense sexual pleasure, including orgasm, solely from vaginal stimulation is occasional or otherwise absent because the vagina has significantly fewer nerve endings than the clitoris.<ref name="Weiten_Cavendish_Archer_Lief" />

The prominent debate over the quantity of vaginal nerve endings began with [[Alfred Kinsey]]. Although [[Sigmund Freud]]'s theory that clitoral orgasms are a prepubertal or adolescent phenomenon and that vaginal (or [[G-spot]]) orgasms are something that only physically mature females experience had been criticized before, Kinsey was the first researcher to harshly criticize the theory.<ref name="Koedt" /><ref name="Tavris_Irvine" /> Through his observations of female masturbation and interviews with thousands of women,<ref name="Archer_Andersen_Williams" /> Kinsey found that most of the women he observed and surveyed could not have vaginal orgasms,<ref name="Pomeroy_Irvine_Williams" /> a finding that was also supported by his knowledge of sex organ anatomy.<ref name="Pomeroy 1982 p8" /> Scholar Janice{{nbsp}}M. Irvine stated that he "criticized Freud and other theorists for projecting male constructs of sexuality onto women" and "viewed the clitoris as the main center of sexual response". He considered the vagina to be "relatively unimportant" for sexual satisfaction, relaying that "few women inserted fingers or objects into their vaginas when they masturbated". Believing that vaginal orgasms are "a physiological impossibility" because the vagina has insufficient nerve endings for sexual pleasure or climax, he "concluded that satisfaction from penile penetration [is] mainly psychological or perhaps the result of referred sensation".<ref name="Irvine 2005 pp37–38" />

[[Masters and Johnson]]'s research, as well as [[Shere Hite]]'s, generally supported Kinsey's findings about the female orgasm.<ref name="Pomeroy_Archer_Hite_Irvine_Williams" /> Masters and Johnson were the first researchers to determine that the clitoral structures surround and extend along and within the labia. They observed that both clitoral and vaginal orgasms have the same stages of physical response, and found that the majority of their subjects could only achieve clitoral orgasms, while a minority achieved vaginal orgasms. On that basis, they argued that clitoral stimulation is the source of both kinds of orgasms,<ref name="Archer_Williams_Rosenthal" /> reasoning that the clitoris is stimulated during penetration by friction against its hood.<ref name="Lloyd p53" /> The research came at the time of the [[second-wave feminism|second-wave feminist movement]], which inspired [[feminist]]s to reject the distinction made between clitoral and vaginal orgasms.<ref name="Koedt" /><ref name="Fahs 2011 pp38-45" /> Feminist [[Anne Koedt]] argued that because men "have orgasms essentially by friction with the vagina" and not the clitoral area, this is why women's biology had not been properly analyzed. "Today, with extensive knowledge of anatomy, with [C.&nbsp;Lombard Kelly], Kinsey, and Masters and Johnson, to mention just a few sources, there is no ignorance on the subject [of the female orgasm]", she stated in her 1970 article ''[[The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm]].'' She added, "There are, however, social reasons why this knowledge has not been popularized. We are living in a male society which has not sought change in women's role".<ref name="Koedt" />

Supporting an anatomical relationship between the clitoris and vagina is a study published in 2005, which investigated the size of the clitoris; Australian [[Urology|urologist]] [[Helen O'Connell (urologist)|Helen O'Connell]], described as having initiated discourse among mainstream medical professionals to refocus on and redefine the clitoris, noted a direct relationship between the legs or roots of the clitoris and the erectile tissue of the bulbs and corpora, and the distal urethra and vagina while using [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) technology.<ref name="O'Connell_Archer" /><ref name="Graves" /> While some studies, using [[ultrasound]], have found physiological evidence of the G-spot in women who report having orgasms during vaginal intercourse,<ref name="Acton" /> O'Connell argues that this interconnected relationship is the physiological explanation for the conjectured G-spot and experience of vaginal orgasms, taking into account the stimulation of the internal parts of the clitoris during vaginal penetration. "The [[Vagina#Microanatomy|vaginal wall]] is, in fact, the clitoris", she said. "If you lift the skin off the vagina on the side walls, you get the bulbs of the clitoris{{snds}}triangular, crescental masses of erectile tissue".<ref name="O'Connell" /> O'Connell et{{nbsp}}al., having performed dissections on the vulvas of [[cadaver]]s and used photography to map the structure of nerves in the clitoris, made the assertion in 1998 that there is more erectile tissue associated with the clitoris than is generally described in anatomical textbooks and were thus already aware that the clitoris is more than just its glans.<ref name="Sloane_Archer" /> They concluded that some females have more extensive clitoral tissues and nerves than others, especially having observed this in young cadavers compared to elderly ones,<ref name="Sloane_Archer" /> and therefore whereas the majority of females can only achieve orgasm by direct stimulation of the external parts of the clitoris, the stimulation of the more generalized tissues of the clitoris via vaginal intercourse may be sufficient for others.<ref name="O'Connell" />

French researchers [[Odile Buisson]] and [[Pierre Foldès]] reported similar findings to that of O'Connell's. In 2008, they published the first complete{{nbsp}}3D [[Medical ultrasonography|sonography]] of the stimulated clitoris and republished it in 2009 with new research, demonstrating how erectile tissue of the clitoris engorges and surrounds the vagina. Based on their findings, they argued that women may be able to achieve vaginal orgasm through stimulation of the G-spot because the clitoris is pulled closely to the anterior wall of the vagina when the woman is sexually aroused and during vaginal penetration. They assert that since the front wall of the vagina is inextricably linked with the internal parts of the clitoris, stimulating the vagina without activating the clitoris may be next to impossible. In their 2009 published study, it states the "coronal planes during perineal contraction and finger penetration demonstrated a close relationship between the root of the clitoris and the anterior vaginal wall". Buisson and Foldès suggested "that the special sensitivity of the lower anterior vaginal wall could be explained by pressure and movement of clitoris' root during a vaginal penetration and subsequent perineal contraction".<ref name="Buisson_Acton_Carroll" /><ref name="Pappas" />

Researcher Vincenzo Puppo, who, while agreeing that the clitoris is the center of female sexual pleasure and believing that there is no anatomical evidence of the vaginal orgasm, disagrees with O'Connell and other researchers' terminological and anatomical descriptions of the clitoris (such as referring to the vestibular bulbs as the "clitoral bulbs") and states that "the inner clitoris" does not exist because the penis cannot come in contact with the congregation of multiple nerves/veins situated until the angle of the clitoris, detailed by [[Georg Ludwig Kobelt]], or with the root of the clitoris, which does not have sensory receptors or erogenous sensitivity, during vaginal intercourse.<ref name="Puppo" /> Puppo's belief contrasts the general belief among researchers that vaginal orgasms are the result of clitoral stimulation; they reaffirm that clitoral tissue extends, or is at least stimulated by its bulbs, even in the area most commonly reported to be the G-spot.<ref name="Cavendish_Kilchevsky_Carroll" />

The G-spot is analogous to the base of the penis and has additionally been theorized, with the sentiment from researcher Amichai Kilchevsky that because female fetal development is the "default" state in the absence of substantial exposure to male hormones and therefore the penis is essentially a clitoris enlarged by such hormones, there is no evolutionary reason why females would have an entity in addition to the clitoris that can produce orgasms.<ref name="Alexander/MSNBC 2012" /> The general difficulty of achieving orgasms vaginally, which is a predicament that is likely due to nature easing the process of childbearing by drastically reducing the number of vaginal nerve endings,<ref name="Balon_Weiten_Rosenthal" /> challenge arguments that vaginal orgasms help encourage sexual intercourse to facilitate [[Human reproduction|reproduction]].<ref name="Kilchevsky" /><ref name="Lloyd" /> Supporting a distinct G-spot, however, is a study by [[Rutgers University]], published in 2011, which was the first to map the female genitals onto the sensory portion of the brain; the scans indicated that the brain registered distinct feelings between stimulating the clitoris, the cervix and the vaginal wall{{snds}}where the G-spot is reported to be{{snds}}when several women stimulated themselves in a [[Functional magnetic resonance imaging|functional magnetic resonance]] machine.<ref name="Pappas" /><ref name="Komisaruk_Lehmiller" /> [[Barry Komisaruk]], head of the research findings, stated that he feels that "the bulk of the evidence shows that the G-spot is not a particular thing" and that it is "a region, it's a convergence of many different structures".<ref name="Kilchevsky" />

=== Vestigiality, adaptionist and reproductive views ===

Whether the clitoris is [[vestigiality|vestigial]], an [[adaptation]], or serves a [[Sexual reproduction|reproductive]] function has been debated.<ref name="Angier_Gould_Lloyd_Miller" /><ref name="Chivers" /> [[Geoffrey Miller (psychologist)|Geoffrey Miller]] stated that [[Helen Fisher (anthropologist)|Helen Fisher]], [[Meredith Small]] and [[Sarah Blaffer Hrdy]] "have viewed the clitoral orgasm as a legitimate adaptation in its own right, with major implications for female sexual behavior and sexual evolution".<ref name="Miller" /> Like [[Lynn Margulis]] and [[Natalie Angier]], Miller believes, "The human clitoris shows no apparent signs of having evolved directly through male [[mate choice]]. It is not especially large, brightly colored, specifically shaped or selectively displayed during courtship". He contrasts this with other female species that have clitorises as long as their male counterparts. He said the human clitoris "could have evolved to be much more conspicuous if males had preferred sexual partners with larger brighter clitorises" and that "its inconspicuous design combined with its exquisite sensitivity suggests that the clitoris is important not as an object of male mate choice, but as a mechanism of female choice".<ref name="Miller" />

While Miller stated that male scientists such as [[Stephen Jay Gould]] and [[Donald Symons]] "have viewed the female clitoral orgasm as an evolutionary side-effect of the male capacity for penile orgasm" and that they "suggested that clitoral orgasm cannot be an adaptation because it is too hard to achieve",<ref name="Miller" /> Gould acknowledged that "most female orgasms emanate from a clitoral, rather than vaginal (or some other), site" and that his nonadaptive belief "has been widely misunderstood as a denial of either the adaptive value of female orgasm in general or even as a claim that female orgasms lack significance in some broader sense". He said that although he accepts that "clitoral orgasm plays a pleasurable and central role in female sexuality and its joys", "[a]ll these favorable attributes, however, emerge just as clearly and just as easily, whether the clitoral site of orgasm arose as a [[Spandrel (biology)|spandrel]] or an adaptation". He added that the "male biologists who fretted over [the adaptionist questions] simply assumed that a deeply vaginal site, nearer the region of fertilization, would offer greater selective benefit" due to their [[Darwinism|Darwinian]], ''[[summum bonum]]'' beliefs about enhanced reproductive success.<ref name="Gould" />

Similar to Gould's beliefs about adaptionist views and that "females grow nipples as adaptations for suckling, and males grow smaller unused nipples as a spandrel based upon the value of single development channels",<ref name="Gould" /> American philosopher [[Elisabeth Lloyd]] suggested that there is little evidence to support an adaptionist account of female orgasm.<ref name="Lloyd" /><ref name="Chivers" /> Canadian sexologist [[Meredith Chivers|Meredith&nbsp;L. Chivers]] stated that "Lloyd views female orgasm as an [[Ontogeny|ontogenetic]] leftover; women have orgasms because the urogenital neurophysiology for orgasm is so strongly selected for in males that this developmental blueprint gets expressed in females without affecting fitness" and this is similar to "males hav[ing] nipples that serve no fitness-related function".<ref name="Chivers" />

At the 2002 conference for Canadian [[Society for Women in Philosophy|Society of Women in Philosophy]], [[Nancy Tuana]] argued that the clitoris is unnecessary in reproduction; she stated that it has been ignored because of "a fear of pleasure. It is pleasure separated from reproduction. That's the fear". She reasoned that this fear causes ignorance, which veils female sexuality.<ref name="Cairney" /> O'Connell stated, "It boils down to rivalry between the sexes: the idea that one sex is sexual and the other reproductive. The truth is that both are sexual and both are reproductive". She reiterated that the vestibular bulbs appear to be part of the clitoris and that the distal urethra and vagina are intimately related structures, although they are not erectile in character, forming a tissue cluster with the clitoris that appears to be the location of female sexual function and orgasm.<ref name="O'Connell" /><ref name="Yang" />

== Clinical significance ==

=== Modification ===

[[Genital modification]] may be for [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]], medical or cultural reasons.<ref name="Ogletree_Chalker_Momoh" /> This includes [[female genital mutilation]] (FGM), [[sex reassignment surgery]] (for [[trans men]] as part of [[transitioning (transgender)|transitioning]]), [[intersex surgery]], and [[genital piercing]]s.<ref name="Şenaylı" /><ref name="Morris_Pitts-Taylor" /><ref name="Brandes_Lehmiller" /> Use of [[anabolic steroid]]s by bodybuilders and other athletes can result in significant enlargement of the clitoris along with other masculinizing effects on their bodies.<ref name="Freberg" /><ref name="DEA" /> Abnormal enlargement of the clitoris may be referred to as ''[[clitoromegaly]]'' or ''macroclitoris'', but clitoromegaly is more commonly seen as a [[Congenital anomalies of the genitalia|congenital anomaly of the genitalia]].<ref name="Copcu_Kaufman" />

Clitoroplasty, a sex reassignment surgery for [[trans women]], involves the construction of a clitoris from penile tissue.<ref name=Koch>{{cite book|last=Koch|first=Anne L.|title=It Never Goes Away: Gender Transition at a Mature Age|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2019|page=89|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXCCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|isbn=978-0-81359-839-0}}</ref>

People taking hormones or other medications as part of a gender transition usually experience dramatic clitoral growth; individual desires and the difficulties of [[phalloplasty]] (construction of a penis) often result in the retention of the original genitalia with the enlarged clitoris as a penis analog ([[metoidioplasty]]).<ref name="Şenaylı" /><ref name="Brandes_Lehmiller" /> However, the clitoris cannot reach the size of the penis through hormones.<ref name="Brandes_Lehmiller" /> A{{nbsp}}surgery to add function to the clitoris, such as metoidioplasty, is an alternative to phalloplasty that permits the retention of sexual sensation in the clitoris.<ref name="Brandes_Lehmiller" />

In [[clitoridectomy]], the clitoris may be removed as part of a radical [[vulvectomy]] to treat cancer such as [[vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia]]; however, modern treatments favor more conservative approaches, as [[invasive surgery]] can have psychosexual consequences.<ref name="Ghaem-Maghami" /> Clitoridectomy more often involves parts of the clitoris being partially or completely removed during FGM, which may be additionally known as female circumcision or female genital cutting (FGC).<ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 pp54–56" /><ref name="WHO, FGM" /> Removing the glans does not mean that the whole structure is lost, since the clitoris reaches deep into the genitals.<ref name="O'Connell" />

In reduction clitoroplasty, a common [[intersex]] surgery, the glans is preserved and parts of the erectile bodies are excised.<ref name="Şenaylı" /> Problems with this technique include loss of sensation, loss of sexual function, and sloughing of the glans.<ref name="Şenaylı" /> One way to preserve the clitoris with its innervations and function is to imbricate and bury the glans; however, Şenaylı et al. state that "pain during stimulus because of trapped tissue under the scarring is nearly routine. In another method, 50&nbsp;percent of the ventral clitoris is removed through the level base of the clitoral shaft, and it is reported that good sensation and clitoral function are observed in follow-up"; additionally, it has "been reported that the complications are from the same as those in the older procedures for this method".<ref name="Şenaylı" />

Concerning females who have the condition [[congenital adrenal hyperplasia]], the largest group requiring surgical genital correction, researcher Atilla Şenaylı stated, "The main expectations for the operations are to create a normal female anatomy, with minimal complications and improvement of life quality". Şenaylı added that "[c]osmesis, structural integrity, the coital capacity of the vagina, and absence of pain during sexual activity are the parameters to be judged by the surgeon".  ([[Cosmesis]] usually refers to the surgical correction of a disfiguring defect.) He stated that although "expectations can be standardized within these few parameters, operative techniques have not yet become homogeneous. Investigators have preferred different operations for different ages of patients".<ref name="Şenaylı" />

Gender assessment and surgical treatment are the two main steps in intersex operations. "The first treatments for clitoromegaly were simply resection of the clitoris. Later, it was understood that the clitoris glans and sensory input are important to facilitate orgasm", stated Atilla. The clitoral glans' epithelium "has high cutaneous sensitivity, which is important in sexual responses", and it is because of this that "recession clitoroplasty was later devised as an alternative, but reduction clitoroplasty is the method currently performed".<ref name="Şenaylı" />

[[File:BCR in clit piercing.jpg|thumb|[[Clitoris piercing|Glans clitoridis piercing]]]]

What is often referred to as a "clitoris piercing" is the more common (and significantly less complicated) [[clitoral hood piercing]]. Since piercing the clitoris is difficult and very painful, piercing the clitoral hood is more common than piercing the clitoral shaft or glans, owing to the small percentage of people who are anatomically suited for it.<ref name="Morris_Pitts-Taylor" /> Clitoral hood piercings are usually channeled in the form of vertical piercings, and, to a lesser extent, horizontal piercings. The [[triangle piercing]] is a very deep horizontal hood piercing and is done behind the clitoris as opposed to in front of it. For styles such as the [[Isabella piercing]], which passes through the clitoral shaft but is placed deep at the base, they provide unique stimulation and still require the proper genital build. The Isabella starts between the clitoral glans and the urethra, exiting at the top of the clitoral hood; this piercing is highly risky concerning the damage that may occur because of intersecting nerves.<ref name="Morris_Pitts-Taylor" /> (See [[Clitoral index]].)

=== Sexual disorders ===

[[Persistent genital arousal disorder]] (PGAD) results in spontaneous, persistent, and uncontrollable genital arousal in women, unrelated to any feelings of sexual desire.<ref name="Porst_Lehmiller" />  [[Priapism#In women|Clitoral priapism]] is a rare, potentially painful medical condition and is sometimes described as an aspect of PGAD.<ref name="Porst_Lehmiller" /> With PGAD, arousal lasts for an unusually extended period (ranging from hours to days);<ref name="Gordon" /> it can also be associated with [[morphometrics|morphometric]] and vascular modifications of the clitoris.<ref name="Battaglia" />

Drugs may cause or affect clitoral priapism. The drug [[trazodone]] is known to cause male priapism as a side effect, but there is only one documented report that it may have caused clitoral priapism, in which case discontinuing the medication may be a remedy.<ref name="Schatzberg" /> Additionally, [[nefazodone]] is documented to have caused clitoral engorgement, as distinct from clitoral priapism, in one case,<ref name="Schatzberg" /> and clitoral priapism can sometimes start as a result of, or only after, the discontinuation of [[antipsychotic]]s or [[selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor]]s (SSRIs).<ref name="Goldmeier_Collins" />

Because PGAD is relatively rare and, as its concept apart from clitoral priapism, has only been researched since 2001, there is little research into what may cure or remedy the disorder.<ref name="Porst_Lehmiller" /> In some recorded cases, PGAD was caused by or caused, a pelvic arterial-venous malformation with [[Artery|arterial]] branches to the clitoris; surgical treatment was effective in these cases.<ref name="Boston" />

In 2022, an article in ''The New York Times'' reported several instances of women experiencing reduced clitoral sensitivity or inability to orgasm following various surgical procedures, including [[biopsy|biopsies]] of the vulva, [[surgical mesh|pelvic mesh surgeries]] (sling surgeries), and [[labiaplasty|labiaplasties]]. The Times quoted several researchers who suggest that surgeons' lack of training in clitoral anatomy and nerve distribution may have been a factor.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/17/health/clitoris-sex-doctors-surgery.html |title = Half the World Has a Clitoris. Why Don't Doctors Study It? |first1 = Rachel E. |last1 = Gross |date = 17 October 2022 |work = [[The New York Times]] |access-date = 20 October 2022 |archive-date = 20 October 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221020224306/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/17/health/clitoris-sex-doctors-surgery.html |url-status = live}}</ref>

As it is part of the vulva, the clitoris is susceptible to pain ([[Vulvodynia#Clitorodynia|clitorodynia]]) from various conditions such as [[sexually transmitted infection]]s and [[pudendal nerve entrapment]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nva.org/what-is-vulvodynia/|title=What is Vulvodynia?|website=The National Vulvodynia Association|access-date=2019-01-29}}</ref> The clitoris may also be affected by [[vulvar cancer]], although at a much lower rate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vulvar Cancer Treatment |url=https://www.cancer.gov/types/vulvar/patient/vulvar-treatment-pdq |website=National Cancer Institute |access-date=31 May 2019 |language=en |date=9 April 2019}}</ref>

Clitoral phimosis (or clitoral adhesions) is when the prepuce cannot be retracted, limiting exposure of the glans.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Munarriz R, Talakoub L, Kuohung W, Gioia M, Hoag L, Flaherty E, Min K, Choi S, Goldstein I | title = The prevalence of phimosis of the clitoris in women presenting to the sexual dysfunction clinic: lack of correlation to disorders of desire, arousal and orgasm | journal = Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy | volume = 28 | issue = Suppl 1 | pages = 181–5 | year = 2002 | pmid = 11898701 | doi = 10.1080/00926230252851302 | s2cid = 45521652 }}</ref>

=== Smegma ===

The secretion of [[smegma]] (smegma clitoridis) comes from the [[apocrine glands]] of the clitoris (sweat), the [[sebaceous glands]] of the clitoris (sebum) and [[Desquamation|desquamating]] epithelial cells.<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=Medical Dictionary
 |url=http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php?t=82565
 |publisher=Medilexicon
}}</ref>

== Society and culture ==

=== Ancient Greek–16th century knowledge and vernacular ===

Concerning historical and modern perceptions of the clitoris, the clitoris and the [[penis]] were considered equivalent by some scholars for more than 2,500 years in all respects except their arrangement.<ref name="Chalker" /> Due to it being frequently omitted from, or misrepresented in, historical and contemporary anatomical texts, it was also subject to a continual cycle of male scholars claiming to have discovered it.<ref name="Harvey_O'Connell_Ginger" /> The [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]], [[Ancient Rome|ancient Romans]], and Greek and Roman generations up to and throughout the [[Renaissance]], were aware that male and female sex organs are anatomically similar,<ref name="Chalker 2002 p77" /><ref name="Raab" /> but prominent anatomists such as [[Galen]] and [[Andreas Vesalius|Vesalius]] regarded the vagina as the structural equivalent of the penis, except for being inverted; Vesalius argued against the existence of the clitoris in normal women, and his anatomical model described how the penis corresponds with the vagina, without a role for the clitoris.<ref name="Angier_O'Connell" />

Ancient Greek and [[Sexuality in ancient Rome|Roman sexuality]] additionally designated penetration as "male-defined" sexuality. The term ''[[Tribadism|tribas]]'', or {{em|tribade}}, was used to refer to a woman or intersex individual who actively penetrated another person (male or female) through the use of the clitoris or a [[dildo]]. As any sexual act was believed to require that one of the partners be "[[Phallus|phallic]]" and that therefore sexual activity between women was impossible without this feature, mythology popularly associated lesbians with either having enlarged clitorises or as incapable of enjoying sexual activity without the substitution of a phallus.<ref name="Swancutt_Halberstam" /><ref name="Norton" />

In 1545, [[Charles Estienne]] was the first writer to identify the clitoris in a work based on dissection, but he concluded that it had a urinary function.<ref name="O'Connell" /> Following this study, [[Realdo Colombo]] (also known as Renaldus Columbus), a lecturer in surgery at the [[University of Padua]], Italy, published a book called ''De{{nbsp}}re anatomica'' in 1559, in which he describes the "seat of woman's delight".<ref name="Pitts-Taylor_Di Marino" /> In his role as researcher, Colombo concluded, "Since no one has discerned these projections and their workings, if it is permissible to give names to things discovered by me, it should be called the love or sweetness of Venus.", about the mythological [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], goddess of erotic love.<ref name="Harvey" /><ref name="Neil" /> Colombo's claim was disputed by his successor at Padua, [[Gabriele Falloppio]] (discoverer of the [[fallopian tube]]), who claimed that he was the first to discover the clitoris. In 1561, Falloppio stated, "Modern anatomists have entirely neglected it&nbsp;... and do not say a word about it&nbsp;... and if others have spoken of it, know that they have taken it from me or my students". This caused an upset in the European medical community, and, having read Colombo's and Falloppio's detailed descriptions of the clitoris, Vesalius stated, "It is unreasonable to blame others for incompetence on the basis of some sport of nature you have observed in some women and you can hardly ascribe this new and useless part, as if it were an organ, to healthy women". He concluded, "I think that such a structure appears in [[hermaphrodite]]s who otherwise have well-formed genitals, as [[Paul of Aegina]] describes, but I have never once seen in any woman a penis (which [[Avicenna]] called albaratha and the Greeks called an enlarged nympha and classed as an illness) or even the rudiments of a tiny phallus".<ref name="O'Connell_Di Marino" />

The average anatomist had difficulty challenging Galen's or Vesalius' research; Galen was the most famous physician of the Greek era and his works were considered the standard of medical understanding up to and throughout the Renaissance (i.e. for almost two thousand years),<ref name="Raab" /><ref name="Angier_O'Connell" /> and various terms being used to describe the clitoris seemed to have further confused the issue of its structure. In addition to Avicenna's naming it the ''albaratha'' or ''virga'' ("rod") and Colombo's calling it the sweetness of Venus, [[Hippocrates]] used the term ''columella'' ("little pillar"), and [[Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi|Albucasis]], an Arabic medical authority, named it ''tentigo'' ("tension"). The names indicated that each description of the structures was about the body and glans of the clitoris but usually the glans.<ref name="O'Connell" /> It was additionally known to the Romans, who named it ([[Latin obscenity|vulgar slang]]) ''[[wikt:landica|landica]]''.<ref name="Adams" /> However, [[Albertus Magnus]], one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages, felt that it was important to highlight "homologies between male and female structures and function" by adding "a psychology of sexual arousal" that [[Aristotle]] had not used to detail the clitoris. While in [[Constantine the African|Constantine]]'s treatise ''Liber de Coitu'', the clitoris is referred to a few times, Magnus gave an equal amount of attention to male and female organs.<ref name="O'Connell" />

Like Avicenna, Magnus also used the word ''virga'' for the clitoris, but employed it for the male and female genitals; despite his efforts to give equal ground to the clitoris, the cycle of suppression and rediscovery of the organ continued, and a 16th-century justification for [[clitoridectomy]] appears to have been confused with intersex conditions and the imprecision created by the word ''nymphae'' substituted for the word ''clitoris''. [[Nymphotomy]] was a medical operation to excise an unusually large clitoris, but what was considered "unusually large" was often a matter of perception.<ref name="O'Connell" /> The procedure was routinely performed [[Female genital mutilation#Antiquity|on Egyptian women]],<ref name="Momoh" /><ref name="Koroma" /> due to physicians such as [[Jacques Daléchamps]] who believed that this version of the clitoris was "an unusual feature that occurred in almost all Egyptian women [and] some of ours, so that when they find themselves in the company of other women, or their clothes rub them while they walk or their husbands wish to approach them, it erects like a male penis and indeed they use it to play with other women, as their husbands would do&nbsp;... Thus the parts are cut".<ref name="O'Connell" />

=== 17th century–present day knowledge and vernacular ===

[[File:Clitoris disséqué par Kobelt en 1844.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|A [[Georg Ludwig Kobelt]] illustration of the anatomy of the clitoris (1844)]]

[[Caspar Bartholin the Younger|Caspar Bartholin]] (whom [[Bartholin's gland]]s are named after), a 17th-century Danish anatomist, dismissed Colombo's and Falloppio's claims that they discovered the clitoris, arguing that the clitoris had been widely known to medical science since the second century.<ref name="Chalker 2002 pp78-79" /> Although 17th-century midwives recommended to men and women that women should aspire to achieve orgasms to help them get pregnant for general health and well-being and to keep their relationships healthy,<ref name="Raab" /> debate about the importance of the clitoris persisted, notably in the work of [[Regnier&nbsp;de Graaf]] in the 17th century<ref name="O'Connell 2006" /><ref name="Jocelyn" /> and Georg Ludwig Kobelt in the 19th.<ref name="O'Connell" />

Like Falloppio and Bartholin, de Graaf criticized Colombo's claim of having discovered the clitoris; his work appears to have provided the first comprehensive account of clitoral anatomy.<ref name="O'Connell_O'Connell 2006_Di Marino" /> "We are extremely surprised that some anatomists make no more mention of this part than if it did not exist at all in the universe of nature", he stated. "In every cadaver, we have so far dissected we have found it quite perceptible to sight and touch". De Graaf stressed the need to distinguish {{em|nympha}} from {{em|clitoris}}, choosing to "always give [the clitoris] the name clitoris" to avoid confusion; this resulted in the frequent use of the correct name for the organ among anatomists, but considering that {{em|nympha}} was also varied in its use and eventually became the term specific to the labia minora, more confusion ensued.<ref name="O'Connell" /> Debate about whether orgasm was even necessary for women began in the [[Victorian era]], and Freud's 1905 theory about the immaturity of clitoral orgasms ([[#Clitoral and vaginal orgasmic factors|see above]])<!-- NOTE: Linking to a section within the same article is allowed; see Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Linking#Section links.--> negatively affected women's sexuality throughout most of the 20th century.<ref name="Raab" /><ref name="Chalker 2002 p83" />

Toward the end of [[World War I]], a maverick British{{nbsp}}[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] named [[Noel Pemberton Billing]] published an article entitled "The Cult of the Clitoris", furthering his conspiracy theories and attacking the actress [[Maud Allan]] and [[Margot Asquith]], wife of the prime minister. The accusations led to a sensational libel trial, which Billing eventually won; [[Philip Hoare]] reports that Billing argued that "as a medical term, 'clitoris' would only be known to the 'initiated', and was incapable of corrupting moral minds".<ref>Philip Hoare, 1998. ''Oscar Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century''</ref> Jodie Medd argues regarding "The Cult of the Clitoris" that "the female non-reproductive but desiring body [...] simultaneously demands and refuses interpretative attention, inciting scandal through its very resistance to representation".<ref>''Lesbian Scandal and the Culture of Modernism'' by Jodie Medd. 2012, Cambridge University Press  {{ISBN|978-1-107-02163-1}}</ref>

From the 18th to the 20th century, especially during the 20th, details of the clitoris from various genital diagrams presented in earlier centuries were omitted from later texts.<ref name="Raab" /><ref name="Chalker_O'Connell_Ginger" /> The full extent of the clitoris was alluded to by Masters and Johnson in 1966, but in such a muddled fashion that the significance of their description became obscured; in 1981, the Federation of [[Feminist health centers|Feminist Women's Health Clinics]] (FFWHC) continued this process with anatomically precise illustrations identifying 18 structures of the clitoris.<ref name="Carroll 2012 pp110-111, 252"/><ref name="Raab" /> Despite the FFWHC's illustrations, Josephine Lowndes Sevely, in 1987, described the vagina as more of the counterpart of the penis.<ref name="Frayser" />

Concerning other beliefs about the clitoris, Hite (1976 and 1981) found that, during sexual intimacy with a partner, clitoral stimulation was more often described by women as [[foreplay]] than as a primary method of sexual activity, including orgasm.<ref name="Hite 2003 pp261-264" /> Further, although the FFWHC's work significantly propelled feminist reformation of anatomical texts, it did not have a general impact.<ref name="Graves" /><ref name="Seidman" /> Helen O'Connell's late 1990s research motivated the medical community to start changing the way the clitoris is anatomically defined.<ref name="Graves" /> O'Connell describes typical textbook descriptions of the clitoris as lacking detail and including inaccuracies, such as older and modern anatomical descriptions of the female human urethral and genital anatomy having been based on dissections performed on elderly cadavers whose erectile (clitoral) tissue had shrunk.<ref name="Sloane_Archer" /> She instead credits the work of Georg Ludwig Kobelt as the most comprehensive and accurate description of clitoral anatomy.<ref name="O'Connell" /> [[Magnetic resonance imaging|MRI]] measurements, which provide a live and multi-planar method of examination, now complement the FFWHC's, as well as O'Connell's, research efforts concerning the clitoris, showing that the volume of clitoral erectile tissue is ten times that which is shown in doctors' offices and anatomy textbooks.<ref name="O'Connell 2006" /><ref name="Graves" />

In [[Bruce Bagemihl]]'s survey of ''[[The Zoological Record]]'' (1978–1997){{snds}}which contains over a million documents from over 6,000 scientific journals{{snds}}539 articles focusing on the penis were found, while seven were found focusing on the clitoris.<ref name="Balcombe" /> In 2000, researchers Shirley Ogletree and Harvey Ginsberg concluded that there is a general neglect of the word {{em|clitoris}} in the common vernacular. They looked at the terms used to describe genitalia in the [[PsycINFO]] database from 1887 to 2000 and found that {{em|penis}} was used in 1,482 sources, {{em|vagina}} in 409, while {{em|clitoris}} was only mentioned in 83. They additionally analyzed 57 books listed in a computer database for sex instruction. In the majority of the books, {{em|penis}} was the most commonly discussed body part{{snds}}mentioned more than {{em|clitoris}}, {{em|vagina}}, and {{em|uterus}} put together. They last investigated terminology used by college students, ranging from Euro-American (76%/76%), Hispanic (18%/14%), and African American (4%/7%), regarding the students' beliefs about sexuality and knowledge on the subject. The students were overwhelmingly educated to believe that the vagina is the female counterpart of the penis. The authors found that the student's belief that the inner portion of the vagina is the most sexually sensitive part of the female body correlated with negative attitudes toward masturbation and strong support for sexual myths.<ref name="Ogletree" /><ref name="Waskul" />

[[File:8_mars_2019_-_Paris_République_(40355995113).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Protester for clitoris awareness at a women's rights rally in Paris, France (2019)]]

A study in 2005 reported that, among a sample of undergraduate students, the most frequently cited sources for knowledge about the clitoris were school and friends, and that this was associated with the least tested knowledge. Knowledge of the clitoris by self-exploration was the least cited, but "respondents correctly answered, on average, three of the five clitoral knowledge measures". The authors stated that "[k]nowledge correlated significantly with the frequency of women's orgasm in masturbation but not partnered sex" and that their "results are discussed in light of gender inequality and a social construction of sexuality, endorsed by both men and women, that privileges men's sexual pleasure over women's, such that orgasm for women is pleasing but ultimately incidental". They concluded that part of the solution to remedying "this problem" requires that males and females are taught more about the clitoris than is currently practiced.<ref name="Wade" />

The [[Humanitarianism|humanitarian]] group [[Clitoraid]] launched the first annual International Clitoris Awareness Week, from 6{{nbsp}}to{{nbsp}}12 May in 2015. Clitoraid spokesperson Nadine Gary stated that the group's mission is to raise public awareness about the clitoris because it has "been ignored, vilified, made taboo, and considered sinful and shameful for centuries".<ref name="The Wall Street Journal" /><ref name="Moye" /> (See also [[Vulva activism]])

Odile Fillod created a [[3D printing|3D&nbsp;printable]], open source, full-size model of the clitoris, for use in a set of anti-[[Sexism|sexist]] videos she had been commissioned to produce. Fillod was interviewed by [[Stephanie Theobald]], whose article in ''[[The Guardian]]'' stated that the 3D{{nbsp}}model would be used for [[sex education]] in French schools, from primary to secondary level, from September 2016 onwards;<ref name="Theobald" /> this was not the case, but the story went viral across the world.<ref name="Fillod" />

A questionnaire in a 2019 study was administered to a sample of educational sciences postgraduate students to trace the level of their knowledge concerning the organs of the female and male reproductive system. The authors reported that about two-thirds of the students failed to name parts of the vulva, such as the clitoris and labia, even after detailed pictures were provided to them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = Ampatzidis |first1 = Georgios |last2 = Georgakopoulou |first2 = Despoina |last3 = Kapsi |first3 = Georgia |date = 15 October 2019 |title = Clitoris, the unknown: what do postgraduate students of educational sciences know about reproductive physiology and anatomy? |journal = Journal of Biological Education |volume = 55 |issue = 3 |pages = 254–263 |doi = 10.1080/00219266.2019.1679658 |s2cid = 208590370 |issn = 0021-9266 }}</ref> An analysis in 2022 reported that the clitoris is mentioned in only one out of 113 Greek secondary education textbooks used in biology classes from the 1870s to present.<ref>{{Citation |last1 = Ampatzidis |first1 = Georgios |title = Human Reproduction in Greek Secondary Education Textbooks (1870s to Present) |date = 2022 |url = https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-89480-1_20 |work = Current Research in Biology Education |pages = 257–268 |editor-last = Korfiatis |editor-first = Konstantinos |place = Cham |publisher = Springer International Publishing |language = en |doi = 10.1007/978-3-030-89480-1_20 |isbn = 978-3-030-89479-5 |access-date = 28 March 2022 |last2 = Armeni |first2 = Anastasia |series = Contributions from Biology Education Research |editor2-last = Grace |editor2-first = Marcus |archive-date = 26 February 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230226062555/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-89480-1_20 |url-status = live |url-access = subscription }}</ref>

=== Contemporary art ===
{{See also|Vagina and vulva in art}}

New York artist [[Sophia Wallace]] started work in 2012 on a multimedia project to challenge misconceptions about the clitoris. Based on O'Connell's 1998 research, Wallace's work emphasizes the sheer scope and size of the human clitoris. She says that ignorance of this still seems to be pervasive in modern society. "It is a curious dilemma to observe the paradox that on the one hand, the female body is the primary metaphor for sexuality, its use saturates advertising, art, and the mainstream erotic imaginary", she said. "Yet, the clitoris, the true female sexual organ, is virtually invisible". The project is called {{em|Cliteracy}} and it includes a "clit rodeo", which is interactive, [[Mechanical bull|climb-on model]] of a giant golden clitoris, including its inner parts, produced with the help of sculptor Kenneth Thomas. "It's been a showstopper wherever it's been shown. People are hungry to be able to talk about this", Wallace said. "I love seeing men standing up for the clit [...] Cliteracy is about not having one's body controlled or legislated [...] Not having access to the pleasure that is your birthright is a deeply political act".<ref name="Mosbergen" />

Another project started in New York, in 2016, [[street art]] that has since spread to almost 100 cities: Clitorosity, a "community-driven effort to celebrate the full structure of the clitoris", combining chalk drawings and words to spark interaction and conversation with passers-by, which the team documents on social media.<ref name="Clitorosity" /><ref name="Frymorgen" /> In 2016, Lori-Malépart Traversy made an animated documentary about the unrecognized anatomy of the clitoris.<ref>{{Cite web |last1 = Malépart-Traversy |first1 = Lori |date = 2016 |title = Le clitoris – Animated Documentary (2016) |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_3OA_VZVkY |access-date = 29 December 2020 |website = www.youtube.com |archive-date = 3 November 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201103185626/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_3OA_VZVkY |url-status = live }}</ref>

Alli Sebastian Wolf created a golden {{Ratio|100|1}} scale model of the clitoris in 2017, called the ''Glitoris'' and said, she hopes knowledge of the clitoris will soon become so uncontroversial that making art about them would be as irrelevant as making art about penises.<ref>{{Cite web |last1 = Wahlquist |first1 = Calla |date = 31 October 2020 |title = The sole function of the clitoris is female orgasm. Is that why it's ignored by medical science? |url = http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/nov/01/the-sole-function-of-the-clitoris-is-female-orgasm-is-that-why-its-ignored-by-medical-science |access-date = 10 January 2021 |website = The Guardian |archive-date = 10 February 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210210190624/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/nov/01/the-sole-function-of-the-clitoris-is-female-orgasm-is-that-why-its-ignored-by-medical-science |url-status = live }}</ref>

Other projects listed by the [[BBC]] include Clito Clito, body-positive jewellery made in Berlin; ''Clitorissima'', a documentary intended to normalize mother-daughter conversations about the clitoris; and a ClitArt festival in London, encompassing spoken word performances as well as visual art.<ref name="Frymorgen" /> French art collective Les Infemmes (a [[blend word]] of "infamous" and "women") published a [[fanzine]] whose title can be translated as "The Clit Cheatsheet".<ref name="Douard" />

=== Influence on female genital mutilation ===
{{Further|Religious views on female genital mutilation|Clitoral hood reduction}}

Significant controversy surrounds female genital mutilation (FGM),<ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 pp54–56" /><ref name="WHO, FGM" /> with the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) being one of many health organizations that have campaigned against the procedures on behalf of [[human rights]], stating that "FGM has no health benefits" and that it is "a violation of the human rights of girls and women" which "reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes".<ref name="WHO, FGM" /> The practice has existed at one point or another in almost all human civilizations,<ref name="Momoh" /> most commonly to exert control over the sexual behavior, including masturbation, of girls and women, but also to change the clitoris' appearance.<ref name="WHO, FGM" /><ref name="Koroma" /><ref name="Momoh_Greenberg" /> Custom and tradition are the most frequently cited reasons for FGM, with some cultures believing that not performing it has the possibility of disrupting the cohesiveness of their social and political systems, such as FGM also being a part of a girl's initiation into adulthood. Often, a girl is not considered an adult in an FGM-practicing society unless she has undergone FGM,<ref name="WHO, FGM" /><ref name="Koroma" /> and the "removal of the clitoris and labia{{snds}}viewed by some as the {{em|male parts}} of a woman's body{{snds}}is thought to enhance the girl's femininity, often synonymous with docility and obedience".<ref name="Koroma" />

Female genital mutilation is carried out in several societies, especially in Africa, with{{nbsp}}85 percent of genital mutilations performed in Africa consisting of clitoridectomy or excision,<ref name="Koroma" /><ref name="Fuller" /> and to a lesser extent in other parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, on girls from a few days old to mid-adolescent, often to reduce the sexual desire to preserve vaginal [[virginity]].<ref name="WHO, FGM" /><ref name="Koroma" /><ref name="Momoh_Greenberg" /> The practice of FGM has spread globally, as immigrants from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East bring the custom with them.<ref name="Crawford" /> In the United States, it is sometimes practiced on girls born with a clitoris that is larger than usual.<ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 pp54–56" /> [[Comfort Momoh]], who specializes in the topic of FGM, states that FGM might have been "practiced in ancient Egypt as a sign of distinction among the aristocracy"; there are reports that traces of [[infibulation]] are on Egyptian mummies.<ref name="Momoh" /> FGM is still routinely practiced in Egypt.<ref name="Koroma" /><ref name="Greenberg p95" /> Greenberg et{{nbsp}}al. report that "one study found that{{nbsp}}97 percent of married women in Egypt had had some form of genital mutilation performed".<ref name="Greenberg p95" /> [[Amnesty International]] estimated in 1997 that more than two million FGM procedures are performed every year.<ref name="Koroma" />
{{Anchor|In other animals}}

==Other animals==
{{further|Animal clitoris}}
[[File:A text-book of veterinary obstetrics - including the diseases and accidents incidental to pregnancy, parturition and early age in the domesticated animals (1901) (14782274875).jpg|thumb|1901 illustration of the female [[reproductive system]] of a [[horse]] ([[mare]]); clitoris labeled as 17.]]
<!-- NOTE: As this section relays, the clitoris has not been extensively studied with regard to non-human animals. A section has not been created for each of the animals mentioned because there is not a lot of detail about each animal; as Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Layout#Paragraphs states, "The number of single-sentence paragraphs should be minimized" and "Short paragraphs and single sentences generally do not warrant their own subheading." This is why this section has been divided in the way that it has. If the material is a small piece (a sentence, or a paragraph of only a couple or few sentences) about an animal that does not yet have its own section, consider adding it here in the "General" section instead of creating a subsection for it. -->

Although the clitoris (and clitoral prepuce/[[Clitoral hood#Other animals|sheath]])<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kitalyi |first1=A. |last2=Owen |first2=E.|last3=Jayasuria |first3=N. |last4=Smith |first4=T. |publisher=5m publishing |year=2020 |title=Livestock and Wealth Creation: Improving the Husbandry of Animals Kept By Resource-Poor People in Developing Countries |page=337 |isbn=978-1-91045-577-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e9jsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT337}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hodges |first1=Frederick Mansfield |last2=Denniston |first2=George C. |last3=Milos |first3=Marilyn Fayre |publisher=Springer US |year=2007 |title=Male and Female Circumcision: Medical, Legal, and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice |page=19 |isbn=978-0-58539-937-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U0EyBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19}}</ref> exists in all [[mammal]] species,<ref name="Balcombe" /> there are few detailed studies of the anatomy of the clitoris in non-humans.<ref name="Martin-Alguacil" /> Studies have been done on the clitoris of [[cat]]s, [[sheep]] and [[Mouse|mice]].<ref name="Kawatani"/><ref name="Smith"/><ref name="Martin-Alguacil"/> Some mammals have [[Preputial gland|clitoral glands]]. The clitoris is especially developed in [[fossa (animal)|fossas]],<ref name="Hawkins" /> non-human [[ape]]s, [[lemur]]s, [[Mole (animal)|moles]],<ref name="Sinclair" /> and often contains a small bone known as the [[os clitoridis]].<ref name="Angier_Hall_Goodman" /> Many species of [[Talpidae|talpid]] moles exhibit peniform clitorises that are tunneled by the urethra and are found to have erectile tissue.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = Jiménez |first1 = R. |last2 = Barrionuevo |first2 = F.J. |last3 = Burgos |first3 = M. |date = 2013 |title = Natural Exceptions to Normal Gonad Development in Mammals |journal = Sexual Development |volume = 7 |issue = 1–3 |pages = 147–162 |doi = 10.1159/000338768 |pmid = 22626995 |s2cid = 8721211 |issn = 1661-5433 }}</ref> The clitoris is contained in [[Fossa (anatomy)|fossa]], which is a small pouch of tissue in horses and dogs.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kustritz |first=Margaret V. Root|title= The Dog Breeder's Guide to Successful Breeding and Health Management |publisher=Saunders Elsevier|year=2006 |page=116 |isbn= 978-1-41603-139-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rqIa-9jew_MC&pg=PA116}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Budras |first1=Klaus-Dieter |last2=Sack |first2=W. O. |last3=Rock |first3=Sabine |last4=Wünsche |first4=Anita |last5=Henschel |first5=Ekkehard |title=Anatomy of the Horse: An Illustrated Text |publisher=Wiley |year=2003 |page=76 |isbn=978-3-89993-003-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CUFN_K0AHgsC&pg=PA76}}</ref> The clitoris is found in other [[Amniote|amniotic]] creatures<ref>{{cite book|last=Prum|first=Richard O.|publisher = University of Chicago Press|year=2023|title= Performance All the Way Down: Genes, Development, and Sexual Difference |page=219|isbn= 978-0-22682-978-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9KTMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA219}}</ref> including [[reptile]]s such as [[turtle]]s and [[crocodilia]]ns,<ref name="Fishbeck" /> and [[bird]]s such as [[ratite]]s (e.g., cassowaries, ostriches)<ref name="Kotpal" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=McAloose|first1=Denise|last2=St. Leger|first2=Judy|last3=Terio|first3=Karen A.|title = Pathology of Wildlife and Zoo Animals | publisher = Elsevier Science |year = 2018|page=633|isbn= 978-0-12809-219-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rUwADQAAQBAJ&pg=PA633}}</ref> and [[Anatidae|anatids]] (e.g., swans, ducks).<ref>{{cite book|last=Maxwell|first=Kenneth E.|title = The Sex Imperative: An Evolutionary Tale of Sexual Survival | publisher = Springer US |year = 2013|page=99|isbn= 978-1-48995-988-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dnf1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA99}}</ref> The [[Hemipenis#Hemiclitoris|hemiclitoris]] is one-half of a paired structure in [[squamates]] (lizards and snakes). Some [[Intersex (biology)|intersex]] female bears mate and give birth through the tip of the clitoris; these species are [[grizzly bear]]s, [[brown bear]]s, [[American black bear]]s and [[polar bear]]s. Although the bears have been described as having "a birth canal that runs through the clitoris rather than forming a separate vagina" (a feature that is estimated to make up 10 to 20 percent of the bears' population),<ref name="Girshick_Roughgarden" /> scientists state that female [[spotted hyena]]s are the only non-intersex female mammals devoid of an external vaginal opening, and whose sexual anatomy is distinct from usual intersex cases.<ref name="Glickman" />

[[File:Hemiclitorises and scent glands in three elapid snakes.jpg|thumb|The hemiclitorises (labeled "HC") of a few snakes shown under dissection]]

===Non-human primates===
In [[spider monkey]]s, the clitoris is especially developed and has an interior passage, or urethra, that makes it almost identical to the penis, and it retains and distributes urine droplets as the female spider monkey moves around. Scholar Alan F. Dixson stated that this urine "is voided at the bases of the clitoris, flows down the shallow groove on its perineal surface, and is held by the skin folds on each side of the groove".<ref name="Dixson" /> Because spider monkeys of South America have pendulous and erectile clitorises long enough to be mistaken for a penis, researchers and observers of the species look for a scrotum to determine the animal's sex; a similar approach is to identify [[Scent marking|scent-marking]] glands that may also be present on the clitoris.<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40" />

The clitoris erects in [[Common squirrel monkey|squirrel monkeys]] during dominance displays, which indirectly influences the squirrel monkeys' reproductive success.<ref name="Wingfield 2006 p2023" />

The clitoris of [[bonobo]]s is larger and more externalized than in most mammals;<ref name="Balcombe 2011" /> Natalie Angier said that a young adolescent "female bonobo is maybe half the weight of a human teenager, but her clitoris is three times bigger than the human equivalent, and visible enough to waggle unmistakably as she walks".<ref name="Angier" /> Female bonobos often engage in the practice of genital-genital (GG) rubbing. [[Ethology|Ethologist]] [[Jonathan Balcombe]] stated that female bonobos rub their clitorises together rapidly for ten to twenty seconds, and this behavior, "which may be repeated in rapid succession, is usually accompanied by grinding, shrieking, and clitoral engorgement"; he added that, on average, they engage in this practice "about once every two hours", and as bonobos sometimes mate face-to-face, "evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk has suggested that the position of the clitoris in bonobos and some other primates has evolved to maximize stimulation during sexual intercourse".<ref name="Balcombe 2011" />

Many [[strepsirrhine]] species exhibit elongated clitorises that are either fully or partially tunneled by the urethra, including [[mouse lemur]]s, [[dwarf lemur]]s, all ''[[True lemur|Eulemur]]'' species, [[loris]]es and [[galago]]s.<ref name="Petter-Rousseaux-1964">{{Cite book |last = Petter-Rousseaux |first = A. |chapter = Reproductive Physiology and Behavior of the Lemuroidea |date = 1964 |title = Evolutionary and Genetic Biology of Primates |pages = 91–132 |publisher = Elsevier |doi = 10.1016/b978-0-12-395562-3.50009-6 |isbn = 978-0-12-395562-3 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last = Hill, W. C. Osman (William Charles Osman) |title = Primates: comparative anatomy and taxonomy. |date = 1957 |publisher = Edinburgh U.P |oclc = 504203609 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = Petty |first1 = Joseph M. A. |last2 = Drea |first2 = Christine M. |date = 7 May 2015 |title = Female rule in lemurs is ancestral and hormonally mediated |journal = Scientific Reports |volume = 5 |issue = 1 |page = 9631 |doi = 10.1038/srep09631 |pmid = 25950904 |pmc = 4423346 |bibcode = 2015NatSR...5E9631P |issn = 2045-2322 |doi-access = free }}</ref>  Some of these species also exhibit a membrane seal across the vagina that closes the vaginal opening during the non-mating seasons, most notably mouse and dwarf lemurs.<ref name="Petter-Rousseaux-1964" /> The clitoral morphology of the [[ring-tailed lemur]] is the most well-studied. They are described as having "elongated, pendulous clitorises that are [fully] tunneled by a urethra". The urethra is surrounded by erectile tissue, which allows for significant swelling during breeding seasons, but this erectile tissue differs from the typical male [[Corpus spongiosum penis|corpus spongiosum]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = Drea |first1 = Christine M. |last2 = Weil |first2 = Anne |date = 30 October 2007 |title = External genital morphology of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta): Females are naturally "masculinized" |journal = Journal of Morphology |volume = 269 |issue = 4 |pages = 451–463 |doi = 10.1002/jmor.10594 |pmid = 17972270 |s2cid = 29073999 |issn = 0362-2525 }}</ref> Non-pregnant adult ring-tailed females do not show higher testosterone levels than males, but they do exhibit higher [[Androstenedione|A<sub>4</sub>]] and estrogen levels during seasonal aggression. During pregnancy, estrogen, A<sub>4</sub>, and testosterone levels are raised, but female fetuses are still "protected" from excess testosterone.<ref name="Drea-2009">{{Cite journal |last = Drea |first = Christine M. |date = August 2009 |title = Endocrine Mediators of Masculinization in Female Mammals |journal = Current Directions in Psychological Science |volume = 18 |issue = 4 |pages = 221–226 |doi = 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01640.x |s2cid = 145424854 |issn = 0963-7214 }}</ref> These "masculinized" genitalia are often found alongside other traits, such as female-dominated social groups, reduced sexual dimorphism that makes females the same size as males, and even ratios of sexes in adult populations.<ref name="Drea-2009" /><ref name="Kappeler-2015">{{Cite journal |last1 = Kappeler |first1 = Peter M |last2 = Fichtel |first2 = Claudia |date = 2015 |title = Eco-evo-devo of the lemur syndrome: did adaptive behavioral plasticity get canalized in a large primate radiation? |journal = Frontiers in Zoology |volume = 12 |issue = Suppl 1 |page = S15 |doi = 10.1186/1742-9994-12-s1-s15 |pmid = 26816515 |pmc = 4722368 |issn = 1742-9994 |doi-access = free }}</ref> This phenomenon that has been dubbed the "lemur syndrome".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = Kappeler |first1 = Peter M. |last2 = Schäffler |first2 = Livia |date = 18 December 2007 |title = The lemur syndrome unresolved: extreme male reproductive skew in sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a sexually monomorphic primate with female dominance |journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume = 62 |issue = 6 |pages = 1007–1015 |doi = 10.1007/s00265-007-0528-6 |issn = 0340-5443 |doi-access = free }}</ref> A 2014 study of ''Eulemur'' masculinization proposed that behavioral and morphological masculinization in female [[Lemuriformes]] is an ancestral trait that likely emerged after their split from [[Lorisoidea|Lorisiformes]].<ref name="Kappeler-2015" />

{{Anchor|Spotted hyena}}

===Spotted hyenas===
[[File:Spotted hyena in Kenya.jpg|thumb|With a [[Genitourinary system|urogenital system]] in which the female urinates, mates and gives birth via an enlarged, erectile clitoris, female spotted hyenas are the only female mammals devoid of an external vaginal opening.<ref name="Glickman" />]]
While female [[spotted hyena]]s were sometimes referred to as pseudohermaphrodites<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40" /> and scientists of ancient and later historical times believed that they were hermaphrodites,<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40" /><ref name="Glickman" /><ref name="Rosenzweig" /> modern scientists do not refer to them as such.<ref name="Glickman" /><ref name="Blumberg" /> That designation is typically reserved for those who simultaneously exhibit features of both sexes;<ref name="Blumberg" /> the genetic makeup of female spotted hyenas "are clearly distinct" from male spotted hyenas.<ref name="Glickman" /><ref name="Blumberg" />

Female spotted hyenas have a clitoris 90&nbsp;percent as long and the same diameter as a male penis (171 millimetres long and 22 millimetres in diameter),<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40" /> and this [[pseudo-penis]]' formation seems largely [[androgen]]-independent because it appears in the female fetus before differentiation of the fetal ovary and [[adrenal gland]].<ref name="Glickman"/> The spotted hyenas have a highly erectile clitoris, complete with a false [[scrotum]]; author John C. Wingfield stated that "the resemblance to male genitalia is so close that sex can be determined with confidence only by palpation of the scrotum".<ref name="Wingfield 2006 p2023" /> The pseudo-penis can also be distinguished from the males' genitalia by its greater thickness and more rounded glans.<ref name="Glickman" /> The female possesses no external vagina, as the labia are fused to form a pseudo-scrotum. In the females, this scrotum consists of soft adipose tissue.<ref name="Wingfield 2006 p2023" /><ref name="Glickman" /><ref name="Szykman"/> Like male spotted hyenas with regard to their penises, the female spotted hyenas have small [[penile spines|spines]] on the head of their clitorises, which scholar {{ill|Catherine Blackledge|pl}} said makes "the clitoris tip feel like soft sandpaper". She added that the clitoris "extends away from the body in a sleek and slender arc, measuring, on average, over 17&nbsp;cm from root to tip. Just like a penis, [it] is fully erectile, raising its head in hyena greeting ceremonies, social displays, games of rough and tumble or when sniffing out peers".<ref name="Blackledge 2003 p90" />

[[File:Anatomischer Anzeiger (1922) (18006271698).jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|'''Male and female reproductive systems of the spotted hyena, from Schmotzer & Zimmerman, ''Anatomischer Anzeiger'' (1922)'''. Abb. 1 (Fig. 1.) ''Male reproductive anatomy''. Abb. 2 (Fig. 2.) ''Female reproductive anatomy''.<ref name="Schmotzer" /> Principal abbreviations (from Schmotzer & Zimmerman) are: '''T''', testis; '''VD''', vas deferens; '''BU''', bulbus urethrae; '''Ur''', urethra; '''R''', rectum; '''P''', penis; '''S''', scrotum; '''O''', ovarium; '''FT''', tuba Fallopii; '''RL''', ligamentum uteri; '''Ut''', uterus; '''CC''', corpus clitoridis. Remaining abbreviations, in alphabetical order, are: ''AG'', glandula analis; ''B'', vesica urinaria; ''CG'', glandula Cowperi; ''CP'', corpus penis; ''CS'', corpus spongiosum; ''GC'', glans clitoridis; ''GP'', glans penis; ''LA'', musculus levator ani; ''Pr'', praeputium; ''RC'', musculus retractor clitoridis; ''RP'', musculus retractor penis; ''UCG'', canalis urogenitalis.]]
{{anchor|Genital grooming}}
Due to their higher levels of androgen exposure during fetal development, the female hyenas are significantly more muscular and aggressive than their male counterparts; social-wise, they are of higher rank than the males, being [[Dominance (ethology)|dominant]] or dominant and [[Alpha (ethology)|alpha]], and the females who have been exposed to higher levels of androgen than average become higher-ranking than their female peers. Subordinate females lick the clitorises of higher-ranked females as a sign of submission and obedience, but females also lick each other's clitorises as a greeting or to strengthen social bonds; in contrast, while all males lick the clitorises of dominant females, the females will not lick the penises of males because males are considered to be of lowest rank.<ref name="Szykman"/><ref name="Carey"/>

The female spotted hyenas urinate, copulate and give birth through the clitoris since the urethra and vagina exit through the clitoral glans.<ref name="Wingfield 2006 p2023" /><ref name="Glickman" /><ref name="Blackledge 2003 p90" /><ref name="Baskin"/> This trait makes mating more laborious for the male than in other mammals, and also makes attempts to [[Sexual coercion among animals|sexually coerce]] (physically force sexual activity on) females futile.<ref name="Szykman"/> [[Joan Roughgarden]], an [[ecologist]] and [[evolutionary biologist]], said that because the hyena's clitoris is higher on the belly than the vagina in most mammals, the male hyena "must slide his rear under the female when mating so that his penis lines up with [her clitoris]". In an action similar to pushing up a shirtsleeve, the "female retracts the [pseudo-penis] on itself, and creates an opening into which the male inserts his own penis".<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40" /> The male must practice this act, which can take a couple of months to successfully perform.<ref name="Carey"/> Female spotted hyenas exposed to larger doses of androgen have significantly damaged ovaries, making it difficult to conceive.<ref name="Carey"/> After giving birth, the pseudo-penis is stretched and loses much of its original aspects; it becomes a slack-walled and reduced prepuce with an enlarged orifice with split lips.<ref name="Rosevear 1974 pp357–358" /> Approximately 15% of the females die during their first time giving birth, and over 60% of their species' firstborn young die.<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40" />

A 2006 Baskin et al. study concluded, "The basic anatomical structures of the corporeal bodies in both sexes of humans and spotted hyenas were similar. As in humans, the dorsal nerve distribution was unique in being devoid of nerves at the 12 o'clock position in the penis and clitoris of the spotted hyena" and that "[d]orsal nerves of the penis/clitoris in humans and male spotted hyenas tracked along both sides of the corporeal body to the corpus spongiosum at the 5 and 7 o'clock positions. The dorsal nerves penetrated the corporeal body and distally the glans in the hyena", and in female hyenas, "the dorsal nerves fanned out laterally on the clitoral body. Glans morphology was different in appearance in both sexes, being wide and blunt in the female and tapered in the male".<ref name="Baskin" />

==See also==
* [[Clitoral enlargement methods|Clitoral enlargement]]
* [[Clitoral pump]]
* [[Clitoria]], a type of tropical plant
* ''[[The Evolution of Human Sexuality]]''
* [[Nocturnal clitoral tumescence]]

==Notes==

{{Reflist|group="N"}}

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="Acton">
{{harvnb|Acton|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kP9bCflZpVkC&pg=PA145 145]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Adams">
{{harvnb|Adams|1982|pp=97–98}}
</ref>

<ref name="Alexander">
{{harvnb|Alexander|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8S4oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 117]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Alexander/MSNBC 2012">{{cite news |last = Alexander |first = Brian |date = 18 January 2012 |title = Does the G-spot really exist? Scientist can't find it |publisher = [[MSNBC]] |url = http://www.today.com/health/does-g-spot-really-exist-scientist-cant-find-it-1C9382277 |access-date = 2 March 2012 |archive-date = 8 March 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210308091541/https://www.today.com/health/does-g-spot-really-exist-scientist-cant-find-it-1C9382277 |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Angier">
{{harvnb|Angier|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NIonAf-m9OwC&pg=PA68 68]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Answer">
{{harvnb|Komisaruk|Whipple|Nasserzadeh|Beyer-Flores|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Kkts3AX9QVAC&pg=PA108 108–109]}}
</ref>

<!-- <ref name="Bagemihl">
{{harvnb|Bagemihl|2000}}
</ref> -->

<ref name="Balcombe">
{{harvnb|Balcombe|2007|p=111}}
</ref>

<ref name="Balcombe 2011">
{{harvnb|Balcombe|2011|p=88}}
</ref>

<ref name="Basavanthappa">
{{harvnb|Basavanthappa|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wemr8eOB9w4C&pg=PA24 24]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Baskin">
{{harvnb|Baskin|Yucel|Cunha|Glickman|2006|pp=276–283}}
</ref>

<ref name="Battaglia">
{{harvnb|Battaglia|Venturoli|2009|pp=2896–2900}}
</ref>

<ref name="Blackledge 2003 p90">
{{harvnb|Blackledge|2003|p=[https://archive.org/details/storyofv00cath/page/90 90]}}
</ref>

<!-- <ref name="Blechner">
{{harvnb|Blechner|2017}}
</ref>
 -->
<ref name="Blumberg">
{{harvnb|Blumberg|2009|pp=232–236}}
</ref>

<ref name="Boston">{{cite news |first = Irwin |last = Goldstein |title = Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome |date = 1 March 2004 |publisher = [[Boston University Medical Campus]] Institute for Sexual Medicine |url = http://www.bumc.bu.edu/sexualmedicine/informationsessions/persistent-sexual-arousal-syndrome/ |access-date = 7 February 2013 |archive-date = 8 October 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181008082708/http://www.bumc.bu.edu/sexualmedicine/informationsessions/persistent-sexual-arousal-syndrome/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Cairney">
{{cite news |last = Cairney |first = Richard |title = Exploring female sexuality |publisher = University of Alberta |work = ExpressNews |date = 21 October 2002 |access-date = 21 December 2011 |url = http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=3201 |archive-date = 21 December 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111221175533/http://www.archives.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article/2002/10/3201.html }}
</ref>

<ref name="Carey">{{cite news |last = Carey |first = Bjorn |title = The Painful Realities of Hyena Sex |work = [[LiveScience]] |date = 26 April 2006 |access-date = 7 November 2012 |url = http://www.livescience.com/699-painful-realities-hyena-sex.html |archive-date = 19 November 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121119124756/http://www.livescience.com/699-painful-realities-hyena-sex.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Carroll 2009 p264">
{{harvnb|Carroll|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=5f8mQx7ULs4C&pg=PA264 264]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Carroll 2009 p272">
{{harvnb|Carroll|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=5f8mQx7ULs4C&pg=PA272 272]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Carroll 2012 pp110-111, 252">
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Chalker">{{cite web |title = The Clitoral Truth: The Secret World at Your Fingertips |publisher = Federation of Feminist Women's Health Clinics (FFWHC) |access-date = 2 November 2012 |url = http://www.fwhc.org/clitoraltruth.htm |archive-date = 13 November 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121113003107/http://www.fwhc.org/clitoraltruth.htm |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Chalker 2002 p77">
{{harvnb|Chalker|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m3m3_Uq8qWkC&pg=PA77 77]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Chalker 2002 pp78-79">
{{harvnb|Chalker|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m3m3_Uq8qWkC&pg=PA78 78–79]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Chalker 2002 p83">
{{harvnb|Chalker|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m3m3_Uq8qWkC&pg=PA83 83]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Chivers">
{{harvnb|Chivers|2007|pp=104–105}}
</ref>

<ref name="Clitoris">
{{cite web |title = I Want a Better Orgasm! |website = [[WebMD]] |access-date = 18 August 2011 |url = http://www.webmd.com/sex/want-better-orgasms |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090113132443/http://www.webmd.com/sex/want-better-orgasms |archive-date = 13 January 2009 }}
</ref>

<ref name="Clitorosity">{{cite web |title = About |url = https://www.clitorosity.com/about-1 |website = Clitorosity |access-date = 6 March 2018 |archive-date = 21 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191221233238/https://www.clitorosity.com/about-1 }}</ref>

<ref name="Crawford">
{{harvnb|Crawford|Unger|2004}} <!-- needs in-source location(s) -->
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 p54">
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54]}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 pp54–56">
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54–56]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Crooks Baur 2010 p239">
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA239 239]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Cunningham">
{{harvnb|Cunningham|2005|p=17}}
</ref>

<ref name="DEA">{{cite web |title = A Dangerous and Illegal Way to Seek Athletic Dominance and Better Appearance. A Guide for Understanding the Dangers of Anabolic Steroids |publisher = [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] |date = March 2004 |access-date = 7 November 2012 |url = http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/steroids/public/index.html |archive-date = 9 April 2004 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040409111211/http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/steroids/public/index.html }}</ref>

<ref name="Dennerstein">
{{harvnb|Dennerstein|Dennerstein|Burrows|1983|p=108}}
</ref>

<ref name="Dixson">
{{harvnb|Dixson|2012|p=364}}
</ref>

<ref name="Douard">{{cite news |first = Paul |last = Douard |title = We Spoke to the Woman Who Designed a 3D-Printed Clitoris |url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/talking-to-the-woman-who-designed-a-3d-printed-clitoris-876/ |access-date = 6 March 2018 |work = Vice |date = 18 August 2016 |archive-date = 15 January 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200115104124/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vdqe9d/talking-to-the-woman-who-designed-a-3d-printed-clitoris-876 |url-status = live }}</ref>

<!-- No longer in use
<ref name="Emmanuele">
{{harvnb|Emmanuele|McMahon|Waldinger|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iCXF3sWtgegC&pg=PA169 169]}}
</ref>
No longer in use-->

<ref name="Fahs 2011 pp38-45">
{{harvnb|Fahs|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wuUhNGPf86oC&pg=PA38 38–45]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Farage">
{{harvnb|Farage|Maibach|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=beenEjKmvPwC&pg=PA4 4]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Fillod">{{cite web |last = Fillod |first = Odile |title = 3D clitoris: the researcher Odile Fillod reviews the summer buzz |url = http://www.makery.info/en/2016/08/30/clitoris-3d-la-chercheuse-odile-fillod-fait-le-point-sur-le-buzz-de-lete/ |website = Makery |date = 30 August 2016 |access-date = 6 March 2018 |archive-date = 28 January 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200128095710/http://www.makery.info/en/2016/08/30/clitoris-3d-la-chercheuse-odile-fillod-fait-le-point-sur-le-buzz-de-lete/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Fishbeck">
{{harvnb|Fishbeck|Sebastiani|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-cFnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Flaherty">
{{harvnb|Flaherty|Davis|Janicak|1993|p=217}}
</ref>

<ref name="Fogel">
{{harvnb|Fogel|Woods|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BSgd9XZe7fkC&pg=PA92 92]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Francoeur">
{{harvnb|Francoeur|2000|p=180}}
</ref>

<ref name="Frayser">
{{harvnb|Frayser|Whitby|1995|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&pg=PA198 198–199]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Freberg">
{{harvnb|Freberg|2009|p=300}}
</ref>

<ref name="Frymorgen">{{cite news |last1 = Frymorgen |first1 = Tomasz |title = This woman is creating clitoris street art to get people talking about female pleasure |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/08917f1e-e93c-4d3a-aa10-bbb29f0eaaf4 |access-date = 6 March 2018 |work = BBC Three |date = 12 December 2017 |archive-date = 12 March 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180312073932/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/08917f1e-e93c-4d3a-aa10-bbb29f0eaaf4 |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Fuller">
{{harvnb|Fuller|2008|p=45}}
</ref>

<ref name="Ghaem-Maghami">
{{harvnb|Ghaem-Maghami|Souter|2014|p=440}}
</ref>

<ref name="Ginger">
{{harvnb|Ginger|Yang|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PA13 13–22]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Glickman">
{{harvnb|Glickman|Cunha|Drea|Conley|2006|pp=349–356}}
</ref>

<ref name="Gordon">
{{harvnb|Gordon|Katlic|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=F4olDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA259 259]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Gould">
{{harvnb|Gould|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nhIl7e61WOUC&pg=PA767 1262–1263]}}<!-- page PA767 is numbered 1262 -->
</ref>

<ref name="Graves">{{cite news |last = Graves |first = Jen |title = In Her Pants |newspaper = [[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]] |location = Seattle |date = 27 March 2012 |url = http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/in-her-pants/Content?oid=13181200 |access-date = 6 May 2012 |archive-date = 6 March 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306203112/https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/in-her-pants/Content?oid=13181200 |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Greenberg p95">
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PA95 95]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Greenberg p96">
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PA96 96]}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Hake">{{cite web |last1 = Hake |first1 = Laura |first2 = Clare |last2 = O'Connor |url = http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-mechanisms-of-sex-determination-314 |title = Genetic Mechanisms of Sex Determination |publisher = Nature Education |year = 2008 |access-date = 10 August 2012 |archive-date = 19 August 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170819121941/http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-mechanisms-of-sex-determination-314 |url-status = live }}</ref>
-->

<ref name="Harvey">
{{harvnb|Harvey|2002}}
</ref>

<ref name="Hawkins">
{{harvnb|Hawkins|Dallas|Fowler|Woodroffe|2002}} <!-- needs in-source locations -->
</ref>

<ref name="Hite 2003 pp277-284">
{{harvnb|Hite|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=s3OZaVn2wfkC&pg=PA277 277–284]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Hite 2003 pp261-264">
{{harvnb|Hite|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=s3OZaVn2wfkC&pg=PA261 261–264]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Hite 2003 p99">
{{harvnb|Hite|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=s3OZaVn2wfkC&pg=PA99 99]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Hooper 2001 p68">
{{harvnb|Hooper|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=HDuF0Wbez-AC&pg=PA68 68]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Irvine 2005 pp37–38">
{{harvnb|Irvine|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uIJXT7ZCTCsC&pg=PA37 37–38]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Hyde">
{{harvnb|Hyde|2006|p=231}}
</ref>

<ref name="Jocelyn">
{{harvnb|Jocelyn|Setchell|1972}}
</ref>

<ref name="Kahn">
{{harvnb|Kahn|Fawcett|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tTFYIh-HcYYC&pg=PA105 105]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Kammerer-Doak">
{{harvnb|Kammerer-Doak|Rogers|2008|pp=169–183}}
</ref>

<ref name="Kawatani">
{{harvnb|Kawatani|Tanowitza|de Groata|1994|pp=26–36}}
</ref>

<ref name="Kilchevsky">
{{harvnb|Kilchevsky|Vardi|Lowenstein|Gruenwald|2012|pp=719–726}}
</ref>

<ref name="Koedt">
{{cite web |last = Koedt |first = Anne |title = The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm |publisher = [[Chicago Women's Liberation Union]] |work = The CWLU Herstory Website Archive |year = 1970 |access-date = 12 December 2011 |url = http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUArchive/vaginalmyth.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130106211856/http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUArchive/vaginalmyth.html |archive-date = 6 January 2013 }}
</ref>

<ref name="Koroma">{{cite web |last = Koroma |first = Hannah |url = https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/156000/act770061997en.pdf |title = What is Female Genital Mutilation? |date = 30 September 1997 |publisher = [[Amnesty International]] |access-date = 25 April 2010 |archive-date = 21 May 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160521175828/https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/156000/act770061997en.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Kotpal">
{{harvnb|Kotpal|2010|p=394}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Llord">
{{harvnb|Llord|Uchil|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lRaWcRYx_7YC&pg=PA464 464]}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Lloyd">
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005}}<!--Note: The reference largely focuses on the adaptionist vs. non-adaptionist topic; there is no one page, or single set of pages, concerning the topic.-->
</ref>

<ref name="Lloyd pp21-53">
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PA21 21–53]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Lloyd p53">
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PA53 53]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Lloyd pp643–646">
{{harvnb|Lloyd|Crouch|Minto|Liao|2005|pp=643–646}}
</ref>

<ref name="Mah">
{{harvnb|Mah|Binik|2001|pp=823–856}}
</ref>

<ref name="Martin-Alguacil">
{{harvnb|Martin-Alguacil|Pfaff|Shelley|Schober|2008|pp=1407–1413}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Merz">
{{harvnb|Merz|Bahlmann|2004|p=129}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Miller">
{{harvnb|Miller|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QG-8PbZb4csC&pg=PA238 238–239]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Momoh">
{{harvnb|Momoh|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA5 5–11]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Mosbergen">{{cite news |last = Mosbergen |first = Dominique |title = Cliteracy 101: Artist Sophia Wallace Wants You To Know The Truth About The Clitoris |department = Women |work = [[The Huffington Post]] |date = 29 August 2013 |access-date = 2 September 2013 |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/cliteracy_n_3823983.html |archive-date = 16 March 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150316190511/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/cliteracy_n_3823983.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Moye">{{cite web |last = Moye |first = David |title = 'International Clitoris Awareness Week' Takes Place May 6–12 (NSFW) |website = [[The Huffington Post]] |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/international-clitoris-we_n_3202780.html |date = 2 May 2013 |access-date = 19 June 2013 |archive-date = 6 May 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130506022637/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/international-clitoris-we_n_3202780.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Neil">
{{harvnb|Neil|Sigal|Chuchiak, IV|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fTA4yyo4YCYC&pg=PA167 167]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Norton">
{{cite web |last = Norton |first = Rictor |author-link = Rictor Norton |title = A Critique of Social Constructionism and Postmodern Queer Theory, The 'Sodomite' and the 'Lesbian' |url = http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/social22.htm |date = 12 July 2002 |access-date = 30 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080215084530/http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/social22.htm |archive-date = 15 February 2008 }}</ref>

<ref name="O'Connell">
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}}
</ref>

<ref name="O'Connell 2006">
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=T5P_5UwqYhoC 105–112]}}
</ref>

<ref name="OED">
{{OED|clitoris}}
</ref>

<ref name="OEtymD">
{{OEtymD|clitoris}}
</ref>

<ref name="Ogletree">
{{harvnb|Ogletree|Ginsburg|2000|pp=917–926}}
</ref>

<ref name="Pappas">{{cite web |last = Pappas |first = Stephanie |title = Does the Vaginal Orgasm Exist? Experts Debate |publisher = [[LiveScience]] |date = 9 April 2012 |access-date = 28 November 2012 |url = http://www.livescience.com/19579-vaginal-orgasm-debate.html |archive-date = 11 October 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161011211945/http://www.livescience.com/19579-vaginal-orgasm-debate.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Pomeroy 1982 p8">
{{harvnb|Pomeroy|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRtDUxZSx7EC&pg=PR8 8]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Porst">
{{harvnb|Porst|Buvat|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S4GJio79XOUC&pg=PA296 296–297]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Puppo">
{{harvnb|Puppo|2011|p=5}}
</ref>

<ref name="Raab">{{cite magazine |last = Raab |first = Barbara |title = The clit conspiracy |magazine = [[Salon (website)|Salon]] |date = 5 March 2001 |access-date = 28 June 2012 |url = http://www.salon.com/2001/03/05/clitoris_3/ |archive-date = 8 January 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140108131223/http://www.salon.com/2001/03/05/clitoris_3/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Reinisch">
{{harvnb|Reinisch|Beasley|1991|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KsW6wPiXEd0C&pg=PA28 28–29]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Roberts 2006 p42">
{{harvnb|Roberts|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zDS9kC03x2IC&pg=PA42 42]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Roberts 2006 p145">
{{harvnb|Roberts|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zDS9kC03x2IC&pg=PA145 145]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rosenthal 2012 p133">
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT153 133]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rosenthal 2012 p271">
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT291 271]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rosenzweig">
{{harvnb|Rosenzweig|Leiman|Breedlove|1996|p=438}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rosevear 1974 pp357–358">
{{harvnb|Rosevear|1974|pp=357–358}}
</ref>

<ref name="Roughgarden 2004 pp37-40">
{{harvnb|Roughgarden|2004|pp=[https://archive.org/details/evolutionsrainbo00roug/page/37 37–40]}}
</ref>

<!--  <ref name="Rubenstein"> 
{{harvnb|Rubenstein|Cunha|Wang|Campbell|2003}} 
</ref>-->
<!-- needs in-source location(s) -->
<!--
<ref name="Saladin">
{{harvnb|Saladin|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780073126593_r8u0 738]}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Schatzberg">
{{harvnb|Schatzberg|Cole|DeBattista|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=D3zz1NCm3qcC&pg=PA90 90]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Schmotzer">
{{harvnb|Schmotzer|Zimmerman|1922|p=[https://archive.org/stream/anatomischeranze55anat/#page/260/mode/2up 260]}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Schünke">
{{harvnb|Schünke|Schulte|Ross|Lamperti|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NK9TgTaGt6UC&pg=PA192 192]}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Şenaylı">
{{harvnb|Şenaylı|Ankara|2011|pp=273–277}}
</ref>

<ref name="Seidman">
{{harvnb|Seidman|Fischer|Meeks|2006|pp=112–113}}
</ref>

<ref name="Sinclair">
{{harvnb|Sinclair|Glickman|Baskin|Cunha|2016}} <!-- needs in-source location(s) -->
</ref>

<ref name="Sloane 2002 pp32-33">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA32 32–33]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Smith">
{{harvnb|Smith|Parkinson|Long|Barr|2000|pp=574–578}}
</ref>

<ref name="Szykman">
{{harvnb|Szykman|Engh|Van Horn|Holekamp|2007|pp=815–846}}
</ref>

<ref name="Taormino">
{{harvnb|Taormino|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Hfly-iMkWRkC&pg=PA52 52]}}
</ref>

<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">{{cite news |title = Clitoraid launches 'International Clitoris Awareness Week' |publisher = Clitoraid |url = http://www.clitoraid.org/print.php?news.133 |date = 3 May 2013 |access-date = 8 May 2013 |archive-date = 28 January 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180128132611/http://www.clitoraid.org/print.php?news.133 |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Theobald">{{cite news |last1 = Theobald |first1 = Stephanie |title = How a 3D clitoris will help teach French schoolchildren about sex |url = https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/aug/15/french-schools-3d-model-clitoris-sex-education |access-date = 6 March 2018 |work = The Guardian |date = 15 August 2016 |archive-date = 8 November 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201108142820/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/aug/15/french-schools-3d-model-clitoris-sex-education |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Verkauf">
{{harvnb|Verkauf|Von Thron|O'Brien|1992|pp=41–44}}
</ref>

<ref name="Wade">
{{harvnb|Wade|Kremer|Brown|2005|pp=117–138}}
</ref>

<ref name="Waskul">
{{harvnb|Waskul|Vannini|Wiesen|2007|pp=151–174}}
</ref>

<ref name="Westheimer">
{{harvnb|Westheimer|2000|p=166}}
</ref>

<ref name="WHO, FGM">{{cite web |title = Female genital mutilation |publisher = [[World Health Organization]] |access-date = 22 August 2012 |url = https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html |archive-date = 2 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110702174226/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

<ref name="Wingfield 2006 p2023">
{{harvnb|Wingfield|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=11f2zMjqqVkC&pg=PA2023 2023]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Yang">
{{harvnb|Yang|Cold|Yilmaz|Maravilla|2006|pp=766–772}}
</ref>

<!------------------------------< B U N D L E D   R E F E R E N C E S >------------------------------>

<ref name="Angier_Gould_Lloyd_Miller">
{{harvnb|Angier|1999|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NIonAf-m9OwC&pg=PA71 71–76]}};
{{harvnb|Gould|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nhIl7e61WOUC&pg=PA767 1262–1263]}};<!-- page PA767 is numbered 1262 -->
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005}};<!--Note: The reference largely focuses on the adaptionist vs. non-adaptionist topic; there is no one page, or single set of pages, concerning the topic.-->
{{harvnb|Miller|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QG-8PbZb4csC&pg=PA238 238–239]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Angier_Hall_Goodman">
{{harvnb|Angier|1999|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NIonAf-m9OwC&pg=PT95 68–69]}};
{{harvnb|Hall|2005|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=y-RWPGDONlIC&pg=PA344 344]}};
{{harvnb|Goodman|2009}}.
</ref>

<ref name="Angier_O'Connell">
{{harvnb|Angier|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NIonAf-m9OwC&pg=PA92 92]}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}}
</ref>

<ref name="Archer_Williams_Rosenthal">
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–88]}};
{{harvnb|Williams|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PA162 162]}};
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT154 134]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Archer_Andersen_Williams">
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–88]}};
{{harvnb|Andersen|Taylor|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UILcQZS6Bi4C&pg=PA338 338]}};
{{harvnb|Williams|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PA162 162]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Balon_Weiten_Rosenthal">
{{harvnb|Balon|Segraves|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YuP3Hb0TMLQC&pg=PA258 58]}};
{{harvnb|Weiten|Dunn|Hammer|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PT423 386]}};
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT291 271]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Porst_Lehmiller">
{{harvnb|Porst|Buvat|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S4GJio79XOUC&pg=PA293 293–297]}};
{{harvnb|Lehmiller|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YS1IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA319 319]}};
{{harvnb|Andriole|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=USLhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT160 160–161]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Brandes_Lehmiller">
{{harvnb|Brandes|Morey|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cRYJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA493 493–504]}};
{{harvnb|Lehmiller|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YS1IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA134 134]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Buisson_Acton_Carroll">
{{harvnb|Foldès|Buisson|2009|pp=1223–1231}};
{{harvnb|Acton|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kP9bCflZpVkC&pg=PA145 145]}};
{{harvnb|Carroll|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gU3SZSh-eXsC&pg=PT135 103]}}
</ref>

<ref name="BWH_O'Connell_Krychman_Greenberg_Carroll">
{{harvnb|Boston Women's Health|1976|p=45}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3J7TnwpbZQwC&pg=PA105 105–112]}};
{{harvnb|Krychman|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kW64xtC4dBcC&pg=PT41 194]}};
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PA96 96]}};
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Carroll_Crooks_Hooper_Reinisch_Roberts">
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}};
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54]}};
{{harvnb|Hooper|2001|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=HDuF0Wbez-AC&pg=PA48 48–50]}};
{{harvnb|Reinisch|Beasley|1991|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KsW6wPiXEd0C&pg=PA28 28–29]}};
{{harvnb|Roberts|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zDS9kC03x2IC&pg=PA42 42]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Carroll_Rosenthal_Archer_Dennerstein">
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT288 244]}};
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT154 134]}};
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–88]}};
{{harvnb|Dennerstein|Dennerstein|Burrows|1983|p=108}}
</ref>

<ref name="Carroll_Di Marino">
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}};
{{harvnb|Di Marino|2014|p=81}}
</ref>

<ref name="Casper_Crooks_Carroll">
{{harvnb|Casper|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3UjzYoYez80C&pg=PA39 39]}};
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54]}}
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Chalker_O'Connell_Ginger">
{{harvnb|Chalker|2002|p=85}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3J7TnwpbZQwC&pg=PA105 105–112]}};
{{harvnb|Ginger|Yang|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PA13 13–22]}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Chapple_Schuenke_Saladin">
{{harvnb|Chapple|Steers|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=A9m8TkdCUqEC&pg=PA67 67]}};
{{harvnb|Schuenke|Schulte|Schumacher|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FcpVUrdYk9sC&pg=PA200 200–205]}};
{{harvnb|Saladin|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780073126593_r8u0 738]}}: ="At the body surface, the penis turns 90 dorsally and continues inward as the root."
</ref>
--> 
<ref name="Cavendish_Kilchevsky_Carroll">
{{harvnb|Cavendish|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YtsxeWE7VD0C&pg=PA590 590]}};
{{harvnb|Kilchevsky|Vardi|Lowenstein|Gruenwald|2012|pp=719–726}};
{{harvnb|Carroll|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gU3SZSh-eXsC&pg=PT135 103]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Copcu_Kaufman">
{{harvnb|Copcu|Aktas|Sivrioglu|Copcu|2004|p=4}};
{{harvnb|Kaufman|Faro|Brown|2005|p=22}}
</ref>

<ref name="Francoeur_Carroll_Rosenthal">
{{harvnb|Francoeur|2000|p=180}};
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}};
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT154 134]}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Frayser_Drenth">
{{harvnb|Frayser|Whitby|1995|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&pg=PA198 198–199]}};
{{harvnb|Drenth|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aauFT9jPNRoC&pg=PA25 25–26]}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Girshick_Roughgarden">
{{harvnb|Girshick|Green|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Gu8TKksSx0QC&pg=PA24 24]}};
{{harvnb|Roughgarden|2004|pp=[https://archive.org/details/evolutionsrainbo00roug/page/37 37–40]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Goldmeier_Collins">
{{harvnb|Goldmeier|Leiblum|2006|pp=2896–2900}};
{{harvnb|Collins|Drake|Deacon|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cgnTlyXxoy8C&pg=PA147 147]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Goodman_Roughgarden_Wingfield">
{{harvnb|Goodman|2009}};
{{harvnb|Roughgarden|2004|pp=[https://archive.org/details/evolutionsrainbo00roug/page/37 37–40]}};
{{harvnb|Wingfield|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=11f2zMjqqVkC&pg=PA2023 2023]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Halberstam_Greenberg">
{{harvnb|Halberstam|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UYAi9OEYRekC&pg=PA61 61]}};
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PA96 96]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Harvey_O'Connell_Ginger">
{{harvnb|Harvey|2002}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}};
{{harvnb|Ginger|Yang|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PA13 13–22]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Lloyd_Rosenthal">
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PA21 21–53]}};
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT154 134–135]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Kaplan_Lloyd">
{{harvnb|Kaplan|1983|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C&pg=PA204 204], [https://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C&pg=PA209 209–210]}};
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PA21 21–53]}}.<!-- NOTE: A large portion of the reference is about direct and indirect clitoral stimulation; there is no one page, or single set of pages, concerning the topic, but pages 21-53 are the first set. -->
</ref>

<ref name="Komisaruk_Lehmiller">
{{harvnb|Komisaruk|Wise|Frangos|Liu|2011|p=2822}};
{{harvnb|Lehmiller|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pQRgAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT120 120]}}
</ref>

<!--
<ref name="Libertino_Morganstern_Saladin">
{{harvnb|Libertino|1998|p=539}};
{{harvnb|Morganstern|Abrahams|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=VRJTq11Zjh0C&pg=PA117 117]}};
{{harvnb|Saladin|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780073126593_r8u0 738]}}
</ref>
-->

<!--
<ref name="Merz_Schünke">
{{harvnb|Merz|Bahlmann|2004|p=129}};
{{harvnb|Schünke|Schulte|Ross|Lamperti|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NK9TgTaGt6UC&pg=PA192 192]}}
</ref>
-->

<ref name="Momoh_Greenberg">
{{harvnb|Momoh|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA5 5–11]}};
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PA95 95]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Moore_Blechner_Shrage">
{{harvnb|Moore|Clarke|1995}};
{{harvnb|Shrage|Stewart|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RysEBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA225 225–229]}};
{{harvnb|Blechner|2017}}
</ref>

<ref name="Moore_Wade_Labuski">
{{harvnb|Moore|Clarke|1995}};
{{harvnb|Wade|Kremer|Brown|2005|pp=117–138}};
{{harvnb|Labuski|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=l4F2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 19]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Shrage_Schwartz_Wood_Blechner">
{{harvnb|Shrage|Stewart|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RysEBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA225 225–229]}};
{{harvnb|Schwartz|Kempner|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=p0goBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 24]}};
{{harvnb|Wood|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GFsvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT68 68–69]}};
{{harvnb|Blechner|2017}}
</ref>

<ref name="Morris_Pitts-Taylor">
{{harvnb|Morris|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wa9zntiEKeAC&pg=PA218 218]}};
{{harvnb|Pitts-Taylor|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=66u24WAyO_YC&pg=PA233 233–234]}}
</ref>

<ref name="O'Connell_Archer">
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}};
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–92]}}
</ref>

<ref name="O'Connell_Di Marino">
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}};
{{harvnb|Di Marino|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wKMpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 8]}}
</ref>

<ref name="O'Connell 2006_Kilchevsky_Di Marino">
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3J7TnwpbZQwC&pg=PA105 105–112]}};
{{harvnb|Kilchevsky|Vardi|Lowenstein|Gruenwald|2012|pp=719–726}};
{{harvnb|Di Marino|2014|p=81}}
</ref>

<ref name="O'Connell_O'Connell 2006_Di Marino">
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3J7TnwpbZQwC&pg=PA105 105–112]}};
{{harvnb|Di Marino|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wKMpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 9]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Ogletree_Chalker_Momoh">
{{harvnb|Ogletree|Ginsburg|2000|pp=917–926}};
{{harvnb|Chalker|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m3m3_Uq8qWkC&pg=PA60 60]}};
{{harvnb|Momoh|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA5 5–11]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Ogletree_Wade_Waskul">
{{harvnb|Ogletree|Ginsburg|2000|pp=917–926}};
{{harvnb|Wade|Kremer|Brown|2005|pp=117–138}};
{{harvnb|Waskul|Vannini|Wiesen|2007|pp=151–174}}
</ref>

<ref name="Pitts-Taylor_Di Marino">
{{harvnb|Pitts-Taylor|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=66u24WAyO_YC&pg=PA80 80]}};
{{harvnb|Di Marino|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wKMpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 7]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Pomeroy_Archer_Hite_Irvine_Williams">
{{harvnb|Pomeroy|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRtDUxZSx7EC&pg=PR8 8]}};
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–92]}};
{{harvnb|Hite|2003}};
{{harvnb|Irvine|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uIJXT7ZCTCsC&pg=PA37 37–38]}};
{{harvnb|Williams|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PA162 162]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Pomeroy_Irvine_Williams">
{{harvnb|Pomeroy|1982|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRtDUxZSx7EC&pg=PR8 8]}};
{{harvnb|Irvine|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uIJXT7ZCTCsC&pg=PA37 37–38]}};
{{harvnb|Williams|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PA162 162]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Reinisch_McAnulty">
{{harvnb|Reinisch|Beasley|1991|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KsW6wPiXEd0C&pg=PA28 28–29]}};
{{harvnb|McAnulty|Burnette|2003|pp=68, 118}}
</ref>

<ref name=Rodgers>
{{harvnb|Rodgers|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=eJutAwmKCPEC&pg=PA92 92]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rodgers_O'Connell_Greenberg_Weiten_Carroll">
{{harvnb|Rodgers|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=eJutAwmKCPEC&pg=PA92 92–93]}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}};
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6b36v8JHznIC&pg=PA95 95]}};
{{harvnb|Weiten|Dunn|Hammer|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PT423 386]}};
{{harvnb|Carroll|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT154 110–111], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RY0n2CGS5EcC&pg=PT296 252]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rodgers_O'Connell_Kilchevsky">
{{harvnb|Rodgers|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=eJutAwmKCPEC&pg=PA92 92–93]}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|Hutson|2005|pp=1189–1195}};
{{harvnb|Kilchevsky|Vardi|Lowenstein|Gruenwald|2012|pp=719–726}}
</ref>

<ref name="Rosenthal_Weiten_Greenberg_Lloyd_Flaherty_Kaplan">
{{harvnb|Rosenthal|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT154 134]}};
{{harvnb|Weiten|Dunn|Hammer|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PT423 386]}};
{{harvnb|Greenberg|Bruess|Conklin|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PA96 96]}};
{{harvnb|Lloyd|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PA21 21–53]}};
{{harvnb|Flaherty|Davis|Janicak|1993|p=217}};
{{harvnb|Kaplan|1983|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C&pg=PA204 204], [https://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C&pg=PA209 209–210]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Sloane_Merz_Schünke">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA148 148]}};
{{harvnb|Merz|Bahlmann|2004|p=129}};
{{harvnb|Schünke|Schulte|Ross|Lamperti|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NK9TgTaGt6UC&pg=PA192 192]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Sloane_Archer">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA32 32–33]}};
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–88]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Sloane_Archer_Porst">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA32 32–33]}};
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–88]}};
{{harvnb|Porst|Buvat|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S4GJio79XOUC&pg=PA296 296–297]}}
</ref>

<!--  <ref name="Sloane_Crooks_Ginger">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA32 32]}};
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54–56]}};
{{harvnb|Ginger|Yang|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PA13 13–22]}}
</ref>-->

<ref name="Sloane_Crooks_Angier_Jones">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA32 32]}};
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54–56]}};
{{harvnb|Angier|1999|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NIonAf-m9OwC&pg=PA64 64–65]}};
{{harvnb|Jones|Lopez|2013|p=352}}
</ref>

<ref name="Sloane_Kahn_Crooks">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA31 31]}};
{{harvnb|Kahn|Fawcett|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tTFYIh-HcYYC&pg=PA105 105]}};
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Sloane_O'Connell_Crooks_Ginger">
{{harvnb|Sloane|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PA32 32–33]}};
{{harvnb|O'Connell|Sanjeevan|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=T5P_5UwqYhoC 105–112]}};
{{harvnb|Crooks|Baur|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA54 54–56]}};
{{harvnb|Ginger|Yang|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PA13 13–22]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Swancutt_Halberstam">
{{harvnb|Swancutt|2007|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2udV9fAz1UkC&pg=PA11 11–21]}};
{{harvnb|Halberstam|1998|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UYAi9OEYRekC&pg=PA61 61–62]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Tavris_Irvine">
{{harvnb|Tavris|Wade|Offir|1984|p=95}};
{{harvnb|Williams|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PA162 162]}};
{{harvnb|Irvine|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uIJXT7ZCTCsC&pg=PA37 37–38]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Verkauf_Farage">
{{harvnb|Verkauf|Von Thron|O'Brien|1992|pp=41–44}};
{{harvnb|Farage|Maibach|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=beenEjKmvPwC&pg=PA4 4]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Weiten_Cavendish_Archer_Lief">
{{harvnb|Weiten|Dunn|Hammer|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PT423 386]}};
{{harvnb|Cavendish|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YtsxeWE7VD0C&pg=PA590 590]}};
{{harvnb|Archer|Lloyd|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ1V9r_J0sUC&pg=PA85 85–88]}};
{{harvnb|Lief|1994|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=By3n48Gqt_kC&pg=PA65 65–66]}}
</ref>

<ref name="Yang_Wilkinson_Farage">
{{harvnb|Yang|Cold|Yilmaz|Maravilla|2006|pp=766–772}};
{{harvnb|Wilkinson|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UNCvfblD1qgC&pg=PA5 5]}};
{{harvnb|Farage|Maibach|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=beenEjKmvPwC&pg=PA4 4]}}
</ref>
</references><!-- end of reflist -->

===Journals===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last1 = Baskin |first1 = Laurence S. |last2 = Yucel |first2 = Selcuk |last3 = Cunha |first3 = Gerald R. |last4 = Glickman |first4 = Stephen E. |last5 = Place |first5 = Ned J. |title = A Neuroanatomical Comparison of Humans and Spotted Hyena, a Natural Animal Model for Common Urogenital Sinus: Clinical Reflections on Feminizing Genitoplasty |journal = Journal of Urology |volume = 175 |issue = 1 |pages = 276–283 |date = January 2006 |doi = 10.1016/S0022-5347(05)00014-5 |pmid = 16406926 }}
* {{cite journal |last1 = Battaglia |first1 = Cesare |last2 = Venturoli |first2 = Stefano |title = Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder and Trazodone. Morphometric and Vascular Modifications of the Clitoris. A Case Report |journal = [[The Journal of Sexual Medicine]] |volume = 6 |issue = 10 |pages = 2896–2900 |date = August 2009 |doi = 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01418.x |pmid = 19674253 }}
* {{cite journal |last2 = Buisson |first2 = Odile |last1 = Foldès |first1 = Pierre |title = The clitoral complex: a dynamic sonographic study |journal = [[The Journal of Sexual Medicine]] |volume = 6 |issue = 5 |pages = 1223–1231 |year = 2009 |pmid = 19453931 |doi = 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01231.x |s2cid = 5096396 }}
* {{cite journal |last1 = Blechner |first1 = Mark J. |title = The Clitoris: Anatomical and Psychological Issues |journal = Studies in Gender and Sexuality |volume = 18 |issue = 3 |pages = 190–200 |date = 2017 |doi = 10.1080/15240657.2017.1349509 |s2cid = 148717326 }}
* {{cite journal |last = Chivers |first = Meredith L. |editor-first = Michael W |editor-last = Wiederman |title = A Narrow (But Thorough) Examination of the Evolutionary Significance of Female Orgasm |journal = [[Journal of Sex Research]] |volume = 44 |issue = 1 |pages = 104–105 |year = 2007 |doi = 10.1080/00224490709336797 |url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275511477 |url-access = subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last1 = Copcu |first1 = Eray |last2 = Aktas |first2 = Alper |last3 = Sivrioglu |first3 = Nazan |last4 = Copcu |first4 = Ozgen |last5 = Oztan |first5 = Yucel |title = Idiopathic isolated clitoromegaly: A report of two cases |journal = Reprod Health |volume = 1 |issue = 1 |page = 4 |year = 2004 |pmid = 15461813 |pmc = 523860 |doi = 10.1186/1742-4755-1-4 |doi-access = free }}
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{{Refend}}

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* {{cite book |last1 = Crawford |first1 = Mary |first2 = Rhoda |last2 = Unger |date = 2004 |title = Women and Gender: A Feminist Psychology |edition = 4th |location = Boston |publisher = McGraw Hill }}
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* {{cite book |last1 = Dennerstein |first1 = Dorraine |first2 = Lorraine |last2 = Dennerstein |first3 = Graham D |last3 = Burrows |title = Handbook of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology |publisher = [[Elsevier|Elsevier Biomedical Press]] |year = 1983 |isbn = 978-0-444-80444-0 }}
* {{cite book |last = Di Marino |first = Vincent |title = Anatomic Study of the Clitoris and the Bulbo-Clitoral Organ |publisher = [[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |year = 2014 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wKMpBAAAQBAJ&q=gbs_navlinks_s |isbn = 978-3-319-04894-9 |access-date = 19 October 2020 |archive-date = 6 September 2014 |archive-url = http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20140906050741/https://books.google.com/books?id=wKMpBAAAQBAJ&dq=gbs_navlinks_s |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=September 4, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last = Dixson |first = Alan F. |title = Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans |isbn = 978-0-19-954464-6 |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |year = 2012 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SY-PyKNQglIC&pg=PA364 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 11 May 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130511061400/http://books.google.com/books?id=SY-PyKNQglIC&pg=PA364 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 22, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Drenth |first = Jelto |title = The Origin of the World: Science and Fiction of the Vagina |isbn = 978-1-86189-210-2 |publisher = [[Reaktion Books]] |year = 2005 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aauFT9jPNRoC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 21 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191221203331/https://books.google.com/books?id=aauFT9jPNRoC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 7, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last = Fahs |first = Breanne |title = Performing Sex: The Making and Unmaking of Women's Erotic Lives |isbn = 978-1-4384-3781-1 |publisher = [[SUNY Press]] |year = 2011 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wuUhNGPf86oC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613224936/http://books.google.com/books?id=wuUhNGPf86oC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 22, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Farage |first1 = Miranda A. |last2 = Maibach |first2 = Howard I. |title = The Vulva: Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology |isbn = 978-1-4200-0531-8 |publisher = [[CRC Press]] |year = 2013 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=beenEjKmvPwC&q=The+crura+meet+the+fourchette |access-date = 19 October 2020 |archive-date = 26 January 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126031457/https://books.google.com/books?id=beenEjKmvPwC&q=The+crura+meet+the+fourchette |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 7, 2013  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Fishbeck |first1 = Dale W. |last2 = Sebastiani |first2 = Aurora |title = Comparative Anatomy: Manual of Vertebrate Dissection |isbn = 978-1-61731-439-1 |publisher = Morton Publishing Company |year = 2015 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-cFnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 }} <!-- |access-date=September 11, 2016  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Flaherty |first1 = Joseph A. |first2 = John Marcell |last2 = Davis |first3 = Philip G. |last3 = Janicak |title = Psychiatry: Diagnosis & therapy. A Lange clinical manual |isbn = 978-0-8385-1267-8 |publisher = Appleton & Lange |year = 1993 |url = https://archive.org/details/psychiatrydiagno00flah }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Fogel |first1 = Ingram |first2 = Fugate |last2 = Woods |title = Women's Health Care in Advanced Practice Nursing |publisher = [[Springer Publishing|Springer Publishing Company]] |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-0-8261-0235-5 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BSgd9XZe7fkC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613173817/http://books.google.com/books?id=BSgd9XZe7fkC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-09-17  -->
* {{cite book |last = Francoeur |first = Robert T. |year = 2000 |title = The Complete Dictionary of Sexology |publisher = The Continuum Publishing Company |isbn = 978-0-8264-0672-9 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/completedictiona0000unse_w1u0 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Frayser |first1 = Suzanne G. |first2 = Thomas J |last2 = Whitby |title = Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide |publisher = [[ABC-CLIO|Libraries Unlimited]] |year = 1995 |isbn = 978-1-56308-131-6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614014123/http://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 7, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Freberg |first = Laura A. |title = Discovering Biological Psychology |publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] |year = 2009 |isbn = 978-0-547-17779-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-zyTMXAjzQsC&pg=PA300 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613181757/http://books.google.com/books?id=-zyTMXAjzQsC&pg=PA300 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-11-07  -->
* {{cite book |last = Fuller |first = Linda K |title = African Women's Unique Vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS: Communication Perspectives and Promises |isbn = 978-1-4039-8405-0 |publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |year = 2008 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4RgldGBrVwIC&pg=PA45 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613213733/http://books.google.com/books?id=4RgldGBrVwIC&pg=PA45 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-11-20  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Ghaem-Maghami |first1 = Sadaf |last2 = Souter |first2 = William Patrick |editor-first = Pat |editor-last = Price |editor-first2 = Karol |editor-last2 = Sikora |chapter = Carcinoma of the vagina and vulva |title = Treatment of Cancer |date = 2014 |publisher = CRC Press |isbn = 978-1-4822-1494-9 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Ginger |first1 = V A T |last2 = Yang |first2 = C C |editor-last = Mulhall |editor-first = John P. |editor2-first = Luca |editor2-last = Incrocci |editor3-first = Irwin |editor3-last = Goldstein |editor4-first = Ray |editor4-last = Rosen |title = Cancer and Sexual Health |chapter = Chapter 2: Functional Anatomy of the Female Sex Organs |isbn = 978-1-60761-915-4 |publisher = [[Springer Publishing]] |year = 2011 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 5 June 2020 |archive-date = 17 July 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210717165220/https://books.google.com/books?id=GpIadil3YsQC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 23, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Girshick |first1 = Lori B. |first2 = Jamison |last2 = Green |title = Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men |publisher = [[University Press of New England]] |isbn = 978-1-58465-683-8 |year = 2009 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Gu8TKksSx0QC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613232351/http://books.google.com/books?id=Gu8TKksSx0QC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 23, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Goodman |first = S. |editor-last = Wilson |editor-first = D |editor2-last = Mittermeier |editor2-first = R |chapter = Family Eupleridae (Madagascar Carnivores) |title = Handbook of the Mammals of the World. ''Vol. 1: Carnivores'' |year = 2009 |publisher = Lynx Edicions |isbn = 978-84-96553-49-1 |chapter-url = http://www.lynxeds.com/hmw/species-accounts/hmw-1-species-accounts-red-panda-ailurus-fulgens |access-date = 26 June 2012 |archive-date = 25 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725081653/http://www.lynxeds.com/hmw/species-accounts/hmw-1-species-accounts-red-panda-ailurus-fulgens }} <!-- |access-date=November 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Gordon |first1 = David A. |last2 = Katlic |first2 = Mark R |title = Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Pelvic Surgery in the Elderly: An Integrated Approach |publisher = [[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn = 978-1-4939-6554-0 |year = 2017 |page = 259 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=F4olDwAAQBAJ }}<!-- |access-date=February 8, 2018  -->
* {{cite book |last = Gould |first = Stephen Jay |author-link = Stephen Jay Gould |title = The Structure of Evolutionary Theory |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |year = 2002 |isbn = 978-0-674-00613-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nhIl7e61WOUC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614214253/http://books.google.com/books?id=nhIl7e61WOUC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Greenberg |first1 = Jerrold S. |first2 = Clint E. |last2 = Bruess |first3 = Sarah C |last3 = Conklin |title = Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality |publisher = Jones & Bartlett Learning |isbn = 978-0-7637-7660-2 |year = 2010 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613231741/http://books.google.com/books?id=1NC5R0RozBYC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 15, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last = Halberstam |first = Judith |author-link = Judith Halberstam |title = Female Masculinity |publisher = [[Duke University Press]] |year = 1998 |isbn = 978-0-8223-2243-6 |url = https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi |url-access = registration }} <!-- |access-date=September 9, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Hall |first = Brian Keith |title = Bones and Cartilage: Developmental and Evolutionary Skeletal Biology |publisher = [[University of California Press]] |isbn = 978-0-12-319060-4 |year = 2005 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=y-RWPGDONlIC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613161808/http://books.google.com/books?id=y-RWPGDONlIC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 22, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Heffner |first = Linda |year = 2001 |title = Human Reproduction at a Glance |publisher = Blackwell Sciences |isbn = 978-0-632-05461-9 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/humanreproductio0000heff }}
* {{cite book |last = Hite |first = Shere |author-link = Shere Hite |title = The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality |publisher = [[Seven Stories Press]] |year = 2003 |location = New York |isbn = 978-1-58322-569-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=s3OZaVn2wfkC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615051514/http://books.google.com/books?id=s3OZaVn2wfkC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-03-02  -->
* {{cite book |last = Hooper |first = Anne |title = Sex Q & A |publisher = Penguin |year = 2001 |isbn = 978-0-7566-6347-6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HDuF0Wbez-AC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613142436/http://books.google.com/books?id=HDuF0Wbez-AC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 30, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last = Hyde |first = Janet Shibley |title = Understanding Human Sexuality |isbn = 978-0-07-298636-5 |publisher = [[McGraw-Hill]] |year = 2006 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Jones |first1 = Richard E. |last2 = Lopez |first2 = Kristin H. |year = 2013 |title = Human Reproductive Biology |publisher = [[Academic Press]] |isbn = 978-0-12-382185-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=M4kEdSnS-pkC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 9 August 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210809234119/https://books.google.com/books?id=M4kEdSnS-pkC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=March 22, 2014  -->
* {{cite book |last = Irvine |first = Janice M. |year = 2005 |title = Disorders of desire: sexuality and gender in modern American sexology |publisher = [[Temple University Press]] |isbn = 978-1-59213-151-8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uIJXT7ZCTCsC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614000225/http://books.google.com/books?id=uIJXT7ZCTCsC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Kahn |first1 = Ada P. |first2 = Jan |last2 = Fawcett |title = The Encyclopedia of Mental Health |publisher = [[Infobase Publishing]] |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-0-8160-6454-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tTFYIh-HcYYC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615004827/http://books.google.com/books?id=tTFYIh-HcYYC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 14, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Kaplan |first = Helen Singer |title = The Evaluation of Sexual Disorders: Psychological and Medical Aspects |publisher = [[Psychology Press]] |year = 1983 |isbn = 978-0-87630-329-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615021937/http://books.google.com/books?id=WCqMzcAka54C&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Kaufman |first1 = Raymond H |last2 = Faro |first2 = Sebastian |last3 = Brown |first3 = Dale |title = Benign Diseases of the Vulva And Vagina |publisher = [[Elsevier Mosby]] |isbn = 978-0-323-01474-8 |year = 2005 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=t5BsAAAAMAAJ |quote = The external genitalia of a female fetus may become masculinized if exposed to excess androgens in utero. ... Besides enlargement, congenital abnormalities of the clitoris may also include agenesis or hypoplasia. ... After the 13th to 14th weeks of gestation, androgen exposure produces clitoromegaly alone. |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 23 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191223062603/https://books.google.com/books?id=t5BsAAAAMAAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 3, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Komisaruk |first1 = Barry R. |last2 = Whipple |first2 = Beverly |first3 = Sara |last3 = Nasserzadeh |first4 = Carlos |last4 = Beyer-Flores |author-link2 = Beverly Whipple |title = The Orgasm Answer Guide |isbn = 978-0-8018-9396-4 |publisher = [[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |year = 2009 |url = https://archive.org/details/orgasmanswerguid00komi |url-access = registration }} <!-- |access-date=November 6, 2011  -->
* {{cite book |last = Kotpal |first = R. L. |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m-eQUEUjG2UC&pg=PA394 |title = Modern Text Book of Zoology: Vertebrates |publisher = Rastogi Publications |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-81-7133-891-7 }}
* {{cite book |last = Krychman |first = Michael L. |title = 100 Questions & Answers About Women's Sexual Wellness and Vitality: A Practical Guide for the Woman Seeking Sexual Fulfillment |publisher = [[Jones & Bartlett Learning|Jones & Bartlett Publishers]] |year = 2009 |isbn = 978-0-7637-8697-7 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kW64xtC4dBcC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615043540/http://books.google.com/books?id=kW64xtC4dBcC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-08-30  -->
* {{cite book |last = Labuski |first = Christine |title = It Hurts Down There: The Bodily Imaginaries of Female Genital Pain |publisher = [[SUNY Press]] |year = 2015 |isbn = 978-1-4384-5885-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=l4F2CgAAQBAJ |access-date = 7 June 2018 |archive-date = 17 July 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210717165221/https://books.google.com/books?id=l4F2CgAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 7, 2018 -->
* {{cite book |last = Lehmiller |first = Justin J. |title = The Psychology of Human Sexuality |publisher = [[John Wiley & Sons]] |year = 2013 |isbn = 978-1-118-35129-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YS1IAgAAQBAJ |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 18 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191218133144/https://books.google.com/books?id=YS1IAgAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 3, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last = Libertino |first = John A. |year = 1998 |title = Reconstructive urologic surgery |publisher = Mosby |isbn = 978-0-8016-7802-8 }}
* {{cite book |last = Lief |first = Harold I. |editor-last = Berger |editor-first = Milton Miles |chapter = Discussion of the Paper by Helen Singer Kalplan |title = Women Beyond Freud: New Concepts of Feminine Psychology |isbn = 978-0-87630-709-0 |publisher = [[Psychology Press]] |year = 1994 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=By3n48Gqt_kC&pg=PP1 |url = https://archive.org/details/womenbeyondfreud00milt }} <!-- |access-date=July 22, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Llord |first1 = J |first2 = D |last2 = Uchil |editor-first = Sabaratnam |editor-last = Arulkumaran |editor2-first = Lesley |editor2-last = Regan |editor3-first = Aris |editor3-last = Papageorghiou |editor4-first = Ash |editor4-last = Monga |editor5-first = David |editor5-last = Farquharson |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lRaWcRYx_7YC&pg=PP1 |chapter = 12: Reproduction: Ambiguous Genitalia |title = Oxford Desk Reference: Obstetrics and Gynaecology |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |date = 2011 |isbn = 978-0-19-162087-4 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 2 May 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160502024357/https://books.google.com/books?id=lRaWcRYx_7YC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 10, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Lloyd |first = Elisabeth Anne |author-link = Elisabeth Lloyd |title = The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution |isbn = 978-0-674-01706-1 |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |year = 2005 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613221632/http://books.google.com/books?id=6GFNvA6TvlwC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live |oclc = 432675780 }} <!-- |access-date=January 5, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Merz |first1 = Eberhard |first2 = F. |last2 = Bahlmann |title = Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology |volume = 1 |publisher = [[Thieme Medical Publishers]] |year = 2004 |isbn = 978-1-58890-147-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = McAnulty |first1 = Richard D. |first2 = M. Michele |last2 = Burnette |title = Exploring human sexuality: making healthy decisions |publisher = [[Allyn & Bacon]] |year = 2003 |isbn = 978-0-205-38059-6 }}
* {{cite book |last = Miller |first = Geoffrey |author-link = Geoffrey Miller (psychologist) |title = The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature |publisher = [[Random House|Random House Digital]] |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-0-307-81374-9 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QG-8PbZb4csC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614014140/http://books.google.com/books?id=QG-8PbZb4csC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Momoh |first = Comfort |author-link = Comfort Momoh |chapter = 1: Female Genital Mutilation |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PP1 |title = Female Genital Mutilation |editor-last = Momoh |editor-first = Comfort |publisher = Radcliffe Publishing |year = 2005 |isbn = 978-1-85775-693-7 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615031319/http://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Morris |first = Desmond |author-link = Desmond Morris |title = The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body |isbn = 978-0-312-33853-4 |publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |year = 2007 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Wa9zntiEKeAC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 10 December 2014 |archive-date = 18 May 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518015653/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wa9zntiEKeAC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=December 10, 2014  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Morganstern |first1 = Steven |first2 = Allen |last2 = Abrahams |title = The Prostate Sourcebook |isbn = 978-1-56565-871-4 |publisher = [[McGraw-Hill|McGraw-Hill Professional]] |year = 1998 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VRJTq11Zjh0C&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615032636/http://books.google.com/books?id=VRJTq11Zjh0C&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 21, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Neil |first1 = L. |last2 = Sigal |first2 = Pete |last3 = Chuchiak, IV |first3 = John F. |title = Sexual Encounters/Sexual Collisions: Alternative Sexualities in Colonial Mesoamerica |publisher = [[Duke University Press]] |year = 2007 |isbn = 978-0-8223-6670-6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fTA4yyo4YCYC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 19 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191219065733/https://books.google.com/books?id=fTA4yyo4YCYC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 7, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = O'Connell |first1 = Helen E. |author1-link=Helen O'Connell (urologist)  |first2 = Kalavampara V |last2 = Sanjeevan |editor-last = Goldstein |editor-first = Irwin Joseph |title = Women's Sexual Function and Dysfunction: Study, Diagnosis and Treatment |publisher = [[Taylor & Francis|Taylor & Francis US]] |year = 2006 |isbn = 978-1-84214-263-9 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=T5P_5UwqYhoC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 2 January 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210102115232/https://books.google.com/books?id=T5P_5UwqYhoC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 15, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Pitts-Taylor |first = Victoria |title = Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body |publisher = [[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn = 978-0-313-34145-8 |year = 2008 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=66u24WAyO_YC&q=Cultural+Encyclopedia+of+the+Body |access-date = 19 October 2020 |archive-date = 26 January 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126150752/https://books.google.com/books?id=66u24WAyO_YC&q=Cultural+Encyclopedia+of+the+Body |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=May 12, 2013 -->
* {{cite book |last = Pomeroy |first = Wardell Baxter |title = Dr. Kinsey and the Institute for Sex Research 1982 |publisher = [[Yale University Press]] |year = 1982 |orig-date = 1972 |isbn = 978-0-300-02916-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kRtDUxZSx7EC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613153126/http://books.google.com/books?id=kRtDUxZSx7EC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 28, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Porst |first1 = Hartmut |last2 = Buvat |first2 = Jacques |title = Standard Practice in Sexual Medicine |publisher = [[John Wiley & Sons]] |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-1-4051-7872-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=S4GJio79XOUC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 22 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191222154607/https://books.google.com/books?id=S4GJio79XOUC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 3, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Reinisch |first1 = June M |first2 = Ruth |last2 = Beasley |title = The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex |publisher = Macmillan |year = 1991 |isbn = 978-0-312-06386-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KsW6wPiXEd0C&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614204231/http://books.google.com/books?id=KsW6wPiXEd0C&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 10, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last = Roberts |first = Keath |title = Lotus Illustrated Dictionary of Sex |publisher = Lotus Press |year = 2006 |isbn = 978-81-89093-59-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zDS9kC03x2IC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615030340/http://books.google.com/books?id=zDS9kC03x2IC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=August 17, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last=Rodgers |first=Joann Ellison |title=Sex: A Natural History |publisher=Henry Holt and Company<!--Google Books info is incorrect--> |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8050-7281-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJutAwmKCPEC&q=gbs_navlinks_s |access-date=29 September 2023}} <!-- |access-date=September 4, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last = Rosenthal |first = Martha |title = Human Sexuality: From Cells to Society |publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] |year = 2012 |isbn = 978-0-618-75571-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614011449/http://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=September 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Rosenzweig |first1 = Mark R. |first2 = Arnold L. |last2 = Leiman |author3-link = Marc Breedlove |first3 = Marc |last3 = Breedlove |title = Biological psychology |publisher = [[Sinauer Associates]] |isbn = 978-0-87893-775-2 |year = 1996 |url = https://archive.org/details/biologicalpsycho00rose }}
* {{cite book |last = Rosevear |first = Donovan Reginald |year = 1974 |title = The carnivores of West Africa |location = London |publisher = Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History) |isbn = 978-0-565-00723-2 |url = https://archive.org/details/carnivoresofwest00rose }} <!-- |access-date=November 9, 2013 -->
* {{cite book |last = Roughgarden |first = Joan |year = 2004 |title = Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People |publisher = [[University of California Press]] |isbn = 978-0-520-24073-5 |url = https://archive.org/details/evolutionsrainbo00roug |url-access = registration }} <!-- |access-date=November 9, 2013 -->
* {{cite book |last = Saladin |first = Kenneth S. |title = Human anatomy |isbn = 978-0-07-298636-5 |publisher = [[McGraw-Hill|McGraw-Hill Higher Education]] |year = 2010 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ul4QAQAAMAAJ |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615003325/http://books.google.com/books?id=Ul4QAQAAMAAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 19, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Seidman |first1 = Steven |first2 = Nancy L. |last2 = Fischer |first3 = Chet |last3 = Meeks |title = Handbook of the New Sexuality Studies |isbn = 978-0-415-38648-7 |publisher = [[Taylor & Francis]] |year = 2006 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qkp65to1wn8C&pg=PA112 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615025555/http://books.google.com/books?id=qkp65to1wn8C&pg=PA112 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-11-20  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Schatzberg |first1 = Alan F. |last2 = Cole |first2 = Jonathan O. |last3 = DeBattista |first3 = Charles |title = Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology |volume = 1 |publisher = [[American Psychiatric Association|American Psychiatric Pub]] |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-1-58562-377-8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D3zz1NCm3qcC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 17 July 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210717165213/https://books.google.com/books?id=D3zz1NCm3qcC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 4, 2014 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Schünke |first1 = Michael |first2 = Erik |last2 = Schulte |first3 = Lawrence M. |last3 = Ross |first4 = Edward D. |last4 = Lamperti |first5 = Udo |last5 = Schumacher |title = Thieme Atlas of Anatomy: General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System |volume = 1 |publisher = [[Thieme Medical Publishers]] |year = 2006 |isbn = 978-3-13-142081-7 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NK9TgTaGt6UC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613224311/http://books.google.com/books?id=NK9TgTaGt6UC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Schuenke |first1 = Michael |first2 = Erik |last2 = Schulte |first3 = Udo |last3 = Schumacher |year = 2010 |title = General Anatomy and Musculoskeletal System |publisher = [[Thieme Medical Publishers]] |isbn = 978-1-60406-287-8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FcpVUrdYk9sC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613235834/http://books.google.com/books?id=FcpVUrdYk9sC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 27, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Schwartz |first1 = Pepper |first2 = Martha |last2 = Kempner |year = 2015 |title = 50 Great Myths of Human Sexuality |publisher = [[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn = 978-0-470-67433-8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p0goBgAAQBAJ |access-date = 11 March 2018 |archive-date = 21 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191221201902/https://books.google.com/books?id=p0goBgAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=March 11, 2018 -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Shrage |first1 = Laurie J. |last2 = Stewart |first2 = Robert Scott |year = 2015 |title = Philosophizing About Sex |publisher = [[Broadview Press]] |isbn = 978-1-77048-536-5 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RysEBgAAQBAJ |access-date = 7 June 2018 |archive-date = 17 July 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210717165212/https://books.google.com/books?id=RysEBgAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=June 6, 2018 -->
* {{cite book |last = Sloane |first = Ethel |title = Biology of Women |publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] |year = 2002 |isbn = 978-0-7668-1142-3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613202222/http://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYyk7zlHYC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-08-25  -->
* {{cite book |last = Swancutt |first = Diana M |editor-last = Penner |editor-first = Todd C. |editor2-first = Caroline Vander |editor2-last = Stichele |title = Mapping gender in ancient religious discourses |chapter = Still before sexuality: "Greek" androgyny, the Roman imperial politics of masculinity and the Roman invention of the ''Tribas'' |publisher = Brill |year = 2007 |isbn = 978-90-04-15447-6 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2udV9fAz1UkC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 13 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613180803/http://books.google.com/books?id=2udV9fAz1UkC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=September 9, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Taormino |first = Tristan |author-link = Tristan Taormino |title = The Big Book of Sex Toys |publisher = Quiver |year = 2009 |isbn = 978-1-59233-355-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Hfly-iMkWRkC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 30 April 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160430062109/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hfly-iMkWRkC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-08-25  -->
* {{cite book |last1 = Tavris |first1 = Carol |last2 = Wade |first2 = Carole |last3 = Offir |first3 = Carole |title = The longest war: sex differences in perspective |publisher = [[University of Michigan]] |year = 1984 |isbn = 978-0-15-551186-6 |url = https://archive.org/details/longestwarsexdif00tavr }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Weiten |first1 = Wayne |first2 = Dana S. |last2 = Dunn |first3 = Elizabeth Yost |last3 = Hammer |title = Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st century |isbn = 978-1-111-18663-0 |publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] |year = 2011 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 2 January 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140102164122/http://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 9, 201 -->
* {{cite book |last = Westheimer |first = Ruth |author-link = Ruth Westheimer |title = Encyclopedia of sex |publisher = [[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]] |year = 2000 |isbn = 978-0-8264-1240-9 }}
* {{cite book |last = Wilkinson |first = Edward J. |title = Wilkinson and Stone Atlas of Vulvar Disease |publisher = [[Lippincott Williams & Wilkins]] |year = 2012 |isbn = 978-1-4511-7853-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UNCvfblD1qgC |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 21 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191221035117/https://books.google.com/books?id=UNCvfblD1qgC |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 28, 2012  -->
* {{cite book |last = Williams |first = Linda |title = Screening Sex |publisher = [[Duke University Press]] |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-0-8223-4285-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130615040323/http://books.google.com/books?id=UHPEp2AbYxcC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=2012-11-28  -->
* {{cite book |last = Wingfield |first = John C |editor-last = Neill |editor-first = Jimmy D |year = 2006 |chapter = Communicative Behaviors Hormone–Behavior Interactions, and Reproduction in Vertebrates |title = Physiology of Reproduction |volume = 2 |isbn = 978-0-12-515402-4 |publisher = [[Gulf Professional Publishing]] |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=11f2zMjqqVkC&pg=PP1 |access-date = 27 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 June 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130614235749/http://books.google.com/books?id=11f2zMjqqVkC&pg=PP1 |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=November 27, 2012 -->
* {{cite book |last = Wood |first = Rachel |year = 2017 |title = Consumer Sexualities: Women and Sex Shopping |publisher = [[Routledge]] |isbn = 978-1-315-44750-6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GFsvDwAAQBAJ |access-date = 11 March 2018 |archive-date = 20 December 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191220031956/https://books.google.com/books?id=GFsvDwAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} <!-- |access-date=March 11, 2018 -->
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|clitoris}}
* {{commons category-inline|Clitoris}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_3OA_VZVkY "The Clitoris – Animated Documentary"] by Lori-Malépart Traversy (Video), 2016.

{{Women's health|state=collapsed}}
{{Female reproductive system}}
{{Sex}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Clitoris| ]]
[[Category:Mammal female reproductive system]]
[[Category:Vulva|*]]
[[Category:Sex organs]]
[[Category:Women's health]]