When it comes to male genitalia, there's never been a shortage of information in medical textbooks. Many, many pages over the centuries have been devoted to men's sexual organs. Surgeons are trained to do everything possible to avoid damaging nerves and maintain sensation when operating in the area.
The same cannot be said for the anatomy of women, or the preservation of their pleasure. For hundreds of years - right up until the 1990s - the clitoris was considered so insignificant it was excluded from medical texts. In the 19th century, it was literally excised - surgically removed as a treatment for "hysteria" and other imaginary, female-only ailments. The clitoris was seen as the source of no end of trouble, but also so unimportant that women wouldn't miss its removal.
Unbelievably, it wasn't until 1998, to when Australia's first female urologist, Professor Helen O'Connell, studied the clitoris in detail and published her findings, that the full, accurate anatomy of the organ was known. In 2005, she mapped the clitoris using MRI imaging, and has since created a full three-dimensional model.
O'Connell discovered that medical science had it wrong about the clitoris. It was assumed that what was visible externally - the glans - was basically all there was to it. But she found that, like an iceberg, the clitoris goes far deeper and wider.
Beneath the pubic bone, unseen, it extends out from the glans in a wishbone shape; it has "legs" surrounding eggplant-shaped bulbs that extend up to 9cm on each side.
Viewed in 3D, the whole thing looks like a beautiful, curvy and complex moth orchid. It's all erectile tissue, highly sensitive and capable of arousal. And it's all surrounded by a "very large" network of nerves stretching out like tendrils. Late last year, US researchers counted these nerves for the first time: there are more than 10,000 in this one small area.
Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin March 4-10 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin March 4-10 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Roman scandals
Sarah Watt reviews two major titles at this year's Italian Film Festival.
Rising tide
Twenty years on from the foreshore and seabed hikoi, the issues behind it have not subsided.
The balance of Powers
The Naked and Famous star is unashamedly indulgent in his new solo album.
Love, love me Who
New Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa and producer Russell T Davies talk about getting by with a little help from their friends.
Raising the barre
Why acclaimed Kiwi director James Napier Robertson-took on the bruising true story of an American ballerina in Russia.
A dickens of a novel
Historical novel is rich in women characters from all levels of Victorian society - including some from real life.
Parental advisory
A vibrant collection of essays sets out to answer one less-than-simple question: what makes a mother?
Unhappy endings
Leslie Jamison anatomises her broken marriage in a candid new memoir - but who or what was really to blame?
'I am still quite overwhelmed'
Ginette McDonald is good with voices. Now, a new anthology celebrates the long and varied career of the actor who brought us Lynn of Tawa. Just don't call it a valedictory.
A long Trekka north
Almost forgotten in this country, NZ's only homedesigned, mass-produced motor vehicle has a new following in Europe.
