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Page: Circumcision
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Circumcision is the procedure that cuts some or all of the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis. The frenulum may also be cut away at the same time, in a procedure called a frenectomy. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin circum (meaning "around") and caedere (meaning "to cut").
Circumcision predates recorded human history, with depictions found in stone-age cave drawings and Ancient Egyptian tombs. The origins of the practice are lost in antiquity. Theories include that circumcision is a form of ritual sacrifice or offering, a health precaution, a sign of submission to a deity, a rite of passage to adulthood, a mark of defeat or slavery, or an attempt to alter esthetics or sexuality. Circumcision of males is a religious commandment in Judaism and Islam, and is customary in some Coptic, Oriental Orthodox Christian and other Christian churches in Africa. It is also practiced by the majority of South Koreans, Americans, and Filipinos. Infant circumcision is controversial in several English-speaking countries. The American Medical Association defines “non-therapeutic” circumcision as the non-religious, non-ritualistic, not medically necessary, elective circumcision of male newborns. It states that medical associations in the US, Australia, and Canada do not recommend the routine non-therapeutic circumcision of newborns. Genital integrity supporters condemn all infant circumcision as male genital mutilation comparable to female genital cutting, while proponents of circumcision consider that infant circumcision is a worthwhile public health measure.
Three randomised trials carried out in African areas of high HIV infection have provided evidence that a man's risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse is halved if he is circumcised. although some voice doubt regarding the value of male circumcision in reducing an epidemic. The World Health Organisation recommended in 2007 that "promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men."
Circumcision may be used to treat inflammation of the glans penis and penile cancer. The use of circumcision to treat phimosis is debated in medical literature.
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