Penis
| Penis | |
|---|---|
Penis of an Asian elephant | |
| Details | |
| Precursor | Genital tubercle (amniotes) |
| System | Reproductive system, sometimes with the genitourinary system |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | penis |
| Anatomical terminology | |
A penis (/ˈpiːnɪs/; pl.: penises or penes) is a sex organ used by male and hermaphrodite animals to copulate,[1][2] and by male placental mammals to urinate.[3][4]
The term penis applies to many intromittent organs of vertebrates and invertebrates, but not to all.[5] As an example, the intromittent organ of most Cephalopoda is the hectocotylus, a specialized arm, and male spiders use their pedipalps. Even within the Vertebrata, there are morphological variants with specific terminology, such as hemipenes.
- ^ Janet Leonard; Alex Cordoba-Aguilar R (18 June 2010). The Evolution of Primary Sexual Characters in Animals. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-971703-3. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ Schmitt, V.; Anthes, N.; Michiels, N. K. (2007). "Mating behaviour in the sea slug Elysia timida (Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa): hypodermic injection, sperm transfer and balanced reciprocity". Frontiers in Zoology. 4: 17. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-4-17. ISSN 1742-9994. PMC 1934903. PMID 17610714.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Wake1992was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hosken, David J.; Archer, C. Ruth; House, Clarissa M.; Wedell, Nina (2019). "Penis evolution across species: divergence and diversity". Nature Reviews Urology. 16 (2): 98–106. doi:10.1038/s41585-018-0112-z. hdl:10871/34696.