Amsterdam UMC researchers map clitoral nerves in 3D using scans of two donated pelvises, preprint
High-energy X-ray scans of two donated pelvises traced five branching nerves in the clitoris. The work is a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Researchers at Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands have produced the first 3D map of the nerves within the glans of the clitoris, according to theguardian.com theguardian.com
theguardian.comtheguardian.comOpen source ↗. Ju Young Lee and colleagues used high-energy X-rays to scan two female pelvises donated through a body donor programme. The work has been posted on the preprint server bioRxiv and has not yet been peer reviewed.
The scans traced five complex, tree-like branching nerves running through the clitoris, the widest 0.7 mm across. Lee noted that a similar level of knowledge about the penile glans was reached in 1998, 28 years ago.
Nerve pathways in the clitoris
Some branches of the clitoral nerves reach the mons pubis, the rounded tissue over the pubic bone. Others go to the clitoral hood, which sits over the glans clitoris, about 10% of the whole organ. Further nerves reach the skin folds of the vulva.
Previous research had indicated that the large dorsal nerve of the clitoris diminishes as it approaches the glans. The new scans appear to show that the nerve continues strongly to the end, so part of what is taught in anatomy may be wrong theguardian.com
theguardian.comtheguardian.comOpen source ↗. Georga Longhurst of St George's, University of London, noted that terminal nerve branches in the glans cannot be seen during dissection.
Relevance for pelvic surgery
According to the World Health Organization, more than 230 million girls and women in 30 countries have undergone female genital mutilation. About 22% of women who have reconstructive surgery afterwards report a decline in orgasmic experience. Lee said a better understanding of how far the nerves extend could reduce that percentage.
Helen O'Connell, a Melbourne urologist who published the first comprehensive anatomical study of the clitoris in 1998, said the findings could also inform surgery for vulvar cancer, gender reassignment surgery and cosmetic procedures such as labiaplasty. Lee hopes to open a clitoris exhibition at Amsterdam University Medical Center.
