Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the accuracy of the anatomical source materials regarding the human penis that are immediately available to medical school students and medical professionals. Ninety sources were vetted for entries and images of the penis — definitions, photos, illustrations, and drawings. We fmd 67% of the depictions of the human penis are anatomically incorrect. Of the primary images of the human penis, 71% are incorrect, while 54% of the secondary are incorrect. It is evident that the penis is misrepresented in the medical literature used in medical schools. The penis is routinely defined and depicted in a partially amputated condition, as if this were a natural state, without explanation or caveat. This study indicates that students are being misinformed about fundamental anatomy.
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References
Research was carried out in the medical lecture classrooms, labs, campus bookstores and libraries of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and Santa Monica College (SMC).
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Some secondary illustrations were so crudely drawn that it was unclear if the penis was intact or circumcised. Those illustrations were not considered in the figures.
Those five sources include: Thompson J, Wilson S. Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. St Louis: Mosby; 1996; Keeffe EB. Know Your Body. The Atlas of Anatomy. Berkeley: Ulysses Press; 1999; Netter FH. Atlas of Human Anatomy. 2nd ed. E. Hanover (NJ): Novartis; 1997; Putz R, Pabst R, editors. Atlas of Human Anatomy. 13th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 2002; 2; Tortora GJ. Principles of Human Anatomy. 9th ed. New York: John Wiley; 2002.
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The four sources that did not include that line are: Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 28th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1994; Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 29th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 2000; Dirckx JH, editor. Stedman’s Concise Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Williams Wilkins; 1997; Stedman TL. Stedman’s Medical Dictionary. 27th ed. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 2000.
O’Toole MT, editor. Miller-Keane Encyclopedia Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, Allied Health. 6th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1997. p. 623.
Tortora GJ. Principles of Human Anatomy. 8th ed. New York: John Wiley; 1999. p. 783.
Segen JC. The Dictionary of Modem Medicine Illustrated. Parkridge ( NJ ): Parthenon Publishing Group; 1992. p. 115.
Clayman CB, editor. AMA Encyclopedia of Medicine. An A-to-Z Reference Guide to over 5,000 medical terms including Symptoms, Diseases, Drugs Treatments. New York: Random House; 1989. p. 466.
Thibodeau GA, Patton KT. Anatomy Physiology, Male Reproductive System. St Louis (MO): Mosby; 1996; Patton KT, Thibodeau GA. Mosby’s Handbook of Anatomy Physiology. St Louis: Mosby; 2000; Thibodeau GA, Patton KT. Structure and Function of the Body. 11th ed. St Louis: Mosby; 2000; Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary. 6th ed. St Louis: Mosby; 2002. plate A-37; Oliver MV. Rapid Review. Anatomical Reference Guide. Skokie (IL): Anatomical Chart Company; 1996; Rohen W, Yokochi C, Lutjen-Drecoll, E. Color Atlas of Anatomy. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 2002; Snell RS. Clinical Anatomy-An Illustrated Review with Questions and Explanations. Baltimore; Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 2000; Clayman C, editor. The Human Body. London: Dorling Kindersley Publishers; 1995; Dox I, et al., editors. Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 4th ed. London: Parthenon Publishers; 2002.
Clemente CD. Anatomy-A Regional Atlas of the Human Body. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 1997. p. 287, 290.
Rohen W, Yokochi Ch. Color Atlas of Anatomy. Tokyo: Igaku Shoin; 1983. p. 319; Clemente CD. Anatomy - A Regional Atlas of the Human Body. 4th ed. Baltimore; Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 1997. p. 1, 179, 186, 188, 286, 287, 290, 302, 308; Patton KT, Thibodeau GA. Mosby’s Handbook of Anatomy Physiology. St Louis: Mosby; 2000. p 546.
Snell RS. Clinical Anatomy for Medical Students. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams Wilkins; 2000. p. 359.
Larsen DE, editor. Mayo Clinic Family Health Book. New York: W. Morrow; 1996. p. 1196, 1209; Keeffe EB. Know Your Body. The Atlas of Anatomy. Berkeley: Ulysses Press; 1999. p. 130, 132-3, 135; Thompson J, Wilson S. Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. St Louis: Mosby; 1996. p. 535; Dox I, et al., editors. Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 4th ed. London: Parthenon Publishers; -2002. p. 368; Cohen J. The Penis Book. Cologne: Konemann Verlagsgesellschaft MbH; 1999. p. 2-100; Netter FH. Atlas of Human Anatomy. 2nd ed. E. Hanover (NJ): Novartis; 1997.
Larsen DE, editor. Mayo Clinic Family Health Book. New York: W. Morrow; 1996. p. 47; Thompson J, Wilson S. Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. St Louis: Mosby; 1996. p. 543.
Dox I, et al., editors. Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 4th ed. London: Parthenon Publishers; 2002. p. 527.
Venes D editor. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. 19th ed. Philadelphia: FA Davis; 2001. p. 821.
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Harryman, G.L. (2004). An Analysis of the Accuracy of the Presentation of the Human Penis in Anatomical Source Materials. In: Denniston, G.C., Hodges, F.M., Milos, M.F. (eds) Flesh and Blood. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4011-0_2
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