Circumcision

Surgery that removes the foreskin (the loose tissue) covering the glans of the penis. Circumcision may be performed for religious or cultural reasons, or health reasons. Newborn circumcision diminishes the risk for cancer of the penis and lowers the risk for cancer of the cervix in sexual partners. It also decreases the risk of urinary tract infections and lowers the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including especially HIV.

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1. Operation to remove part or all of the prepuce. 2. Cutting around an anatomic part ( e.g., the areola of the breast). SYN: peritectomy (2). [L. circumcido, to cut around, fr. circum, around, + caedo, to cut]

- female c. a broad term referring to many forms of female genital cutting, ranging from removal of the clitoral prepuce to the removal of the q.v., clitoris, labia minora and parts of the labia majora, and infibulation; done for cultural, not medical, reasons.

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cir·cum·ci·sion .sər-kəm-'sizh-ən n

1) the act of circumcising:

a) the cutting off of the foreskin of males that is practiced as a religious rite by Jews and Muslims and as a sanitary measure in modern surgery

b) FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

2) the condition of being circumcised

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n.

surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis. This operation is usually performed for religious and ethnic reasons but is sometimes required for medical conditions, mainly phimosis and paraphimosis. Female circumcision involves removal of the clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora. The extent of excision varies from tribe to tribe and from country to country. The simplest and least damaging form is clitoridectomy (removal of the clitoris); the next form entails excision of the prepuce, clitoris, and all or part of the labia minora. The most extensive form, infibulation, involves excision of clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora. The vulval lips are sutured together and a piece of wood or reed is inserted to preserve a small passage for urine and menstrual fluid. In the majority of women who are circumcised, episiotomy, often extensive, is required to allow delivery of a child.

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cir·cum·ci·sion (sur″kəm-sizhґən) [L. circumcisio a cutting around] the removal of all or part of the prepuce, or foreskin, of the penis in males; see also female c.