According to a new study, more than 10,000 nerve fibers provide the sensations created by the clitoris, about 20% more than the previous estimate. This is the first known count of human clitoral nerve tissue.
The dorsal nerve of clitoris – the organ’s main source of innervation – contains thousands more nerve fibers than were frequently cited in the media: about 10,000 instead of 8,000. The researchers counted an average of 5,140 nerve fibers in sampled dorsal nerves. Knowing that the dorsal nerve is symmetrical, this average was multiplied by two to give an approximate total number. These results (not yet peer reviewed) were presented on October 27 at a scientific meeting from Sexual Medicine Society of North America and of theInternational Society for Sexual Medicine.
Why count the number of nerve fibers in the clitoris?
« This study is the first to report the number of myelinated nerve fibers in the human dorsal clitoral nerve and to estimate the number of nerve fibers innervating the human clitoris. said Blair Peters, assistant professor of surgery at the College of Medicine.Oregon Health & Science University. This better understanding of the innervation of the clitoris will improve medical practice, for example for the reconstruction of the organ following cases of genital mutilation or injuries of the dorsal clitoral nerve.
Peters also studies nerves clitoridiens to improve the results of phalloplasty surgery, which involves creating a penis for patients wishing to change their gender. It is with this type of surgery that the professor obtained clitoral nerve tissue, then stained and enlarged 1,000 times under the microscope in order to count the individual nerve fibers using analysis software. pictures. Seven trans-male patients undergoing “gender-affirming” phalloplasty surgery participated in the study to find an average of 10,281 nerve fibers innervating the clitoris.