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The word circumcision comes from Latin circum (="around") and cædere (="to cut"). In males, circumcision is the surgical removal of the prepuce (foreskin), and sometimes the excision of the frenulum. Unless otherwise noted, in this article "circumcision" should be taken to refer specifically to male circumcision. For information on procedures performed on the female genitalia, see female circumcision.

First Section

[[Image:Uncircumsized_penis.gif|]] File:Circumsized penis.gif
An uncircumcised penis, a circumcised penis

Section Two Estimates of the worldwide prevalance of male circumcision vary between 20-30%; the vast majority for religious or cultural reasons. Only in the United States, are the majority of male infants circumcised for non-religious reasons. In some tribal rituals, such as those practiced by the Maasai of Eastern Africa and the Tongans, the foreskin is cut so that it no longer covers the glans, but no tissue is actually removed. Especially when performed before puberty, such methods of body modification yield a penis that appears very similar to one that has been circumcised, and many authors describe these rituals as circumcision even though no part of the foreskin is removed. Circumcision may be recommended in cases, such as phimosis (a very tight foreskin), or posthitis (an inflamed foreskin) for which circumcision is an effective treatment. However, the majority of circumcisions are performed for religious or cultural reasons. When medical benefits are claimed, these are of a preventive rather than therapeutic nature; that is, the procedure is supposed to reduce certain risks later in life, and not supposed to be a cure. The practice is the source of considerable controversy. Although a majority of newborn males are circumcised in the United States, it is often performed only when a consent form is signed by a parent. If this consent form is not signed, the child is usually not circumcised.

Section Two In most infant circumcision procedures, the child is strapped into a special restraint. Circumcision is done either without anesthesia or using a local anesthetic. Since, in infants, the foreskin is usually connected to the glans penis by one or more bridges of tissue called the synechial membrane or preputial adhesions, prior to circumcision these must be separated by means of a blunt probe, forceps, or scissors. The loosened foreskin is then clamped to limit or eliminate bleeding during the procedure (the clamp also acts as a shield to protect the remainder of the penis from being accidentally damaged during the procedure). Common varieties of clamp include the Gomco clamp, the Plastibell, (a disposable device commonly used in the United States), the Mogen clamp (the most common device used in Jewish ritual circumcisions), and the Tara KLamp. The portion of the foreskin held in the clamp is then cut off using a scalpel.

Circumcision in the Ancient World

Circumcision was common, although not universal, among ancient Semitic peoples. The Book of Jeremiah, written in the sixth century BC, lists the Egyptians, Jews, Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites as circumcising people. Herodotus, writing in the fifth century BC, would add the Colchians, Ethiopians, Phoenicians, and Syrians to that list.

The ancient Greeks, however, considered an unmodified penis far more aesthetic than a circumcised one. Ancient Greek artwork portrayed penises as covered by the foreskin (sometimes in exquisite detail), except in the portrayal of satyrs, lechers, and barbarians.[1] The Greek preference for the uncircumcised penis is reflected in Herodotus' comment on the Egyptians: "They practice circumcision for the sake of cleanliness, considering it better to be clean than comely." (Herodotus, Book 2, 37:2).

Another Section

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's conquests, the Greek prejudice against the appearance of the circumcised penis led to a decline in the incidence of circumcision among many peoples that had previously practiced it. The writer of 1 Maccabees wrote that under the Seleucids, many Jewish men attempted to hide or reverse their circumcision so they could exercise in Greek gymnasia (see foreskin restoration). Similar cultural pressures operated throughout the Hellenistic world: when the Judean king John Hyrcanus conquered the Idumeans, he forced them to become circumcised and convert to Judaism, but their ancestors the Edomites had practiced circumcision in pre-Hellenistic times. In Egypt, only the priestly caste retained circumcision, and by the second century, the only circumcising groups in the Roman Empire were Jews, Egyptian priests, and the Nabatean Arabs. Circumcision was sufficiently rare among non-Jews that being circumcised was considered conclusive evidence of Judaism in Roman courts—Suetonius described a court proceeding in which a ninety-year-old man was stripped naked before the court to determine whether he was evading the head tax placed on Jews.