The clitoris is a sexual organ in the body of female mammals.
The visible knob-like portion is located near the anterior junction of the labia minora,
above the opening of the vagina.
Its particular function is inducing sexual pleasure and orgasms.
Recognition of existence
The external part of the clitoris amounts to a small, sensitive protrusion
at the anterior end of the visible female reproductive anatomy.
The clitoris is obscured by the folds of the labia minora in this photo.
Medical literature first recognised the existence of the clitoris in the 16th century.
This is the subject of some dispute: Realdo Colombo
(also known as Matteo Renaldo Colombo) was a lecturer in surgery
at the University of Padua, Italy, and in 1559 he published a book called
De re anatomica in which he described the "seat of woman's delight".
Columbo concluded, "Since no one has discerned these projections
and their workings, if it is permissible to give names to things discovered by me,
it should be called the love or sweetness of Venus."
Columbo's claim was disputed by his successor at Padua, Gabriele Falloppio
(who discovered the fallopian tube), who claimed that he was the first to
discover the clitoris. Caspar Bartholin, a 17th century Danish anatomist,
dismissed both claims, arguing that the clitoris had been widely known
to medical science since the 2nd century.
Noted researchers Masters and Johnson, Boston based researcher John Garabedian,
and Dr. Matt Jaeger at the University of Kentucky all conducted extensive studies
of the clitoris.
In the 1970s, the word clitoris was considered offensive in the spoken English language
and is still seen as a taboo word by many people. The first use of clitoris on television
in the United States is believed to have been by Dr. Rich O'Brien, a Harvard colleague
of Garabedian's, on the Dr. Ruth Westheimer show.
The Clitoris in History
Unlike the penis, of which it is usually described as the female homologue,
the clitoris does not enjoy an array of nicknames, euphemisms or slang terms.
There is even some controversy as to its pronunciation, whether this should be
clitt-oris or cly-toris, dictionaries vary and some give both as correct
(although the OED prefers 'cly-toris) but this means that there is still a decision
to be made which may cause hesitation in referring to this organ in speech.
The derivation of the word is commonly alleged to derive from the Greek 'Kleis'
meaning key but there is some philological debate about this, as discussed
in a 1937 article by Professor Marcel Cohen reprinted by Thomas Power Lowry
in The Classic Clitoris (1978).
The anatomy of the clitoris was described in 1559 by Renaldus Columbus of Padua,
who claimed that previous anatomists had overlooked the very existence of
'so pretty a thing'. His primacy was however contested by another eminent
anatomist of Padua, Gabrielo Fallopio. Although they claimed to have discovered
this organ, since antiquity there had been a powerful belief that mutual orgasm
was necessary for conception, which suggests that, though unnamed, the clitoris
was known to be there.
** Clitoris **
Definition
The clitoris is a sexual organ in the body of female mammals.
The visible knob-like portion is located near the anterior junction of the labia minora,
above the opening of the vagina.
Its particular function is inducing sexual pleasure and orgasms.
Recognition of existence
The external part of the clitoris amounts to a small, sensitive protrusion
at the anterior end of the visible female reproductive anatomy.
The clitoris is obscured by the folds of the labia minora in this photo.
Medical literature first recognised the existence of the clitoris in the 16th century.
This is the subject of some dispute: Realdo Colombo
(also known as Matteo Renaldo Colombo) was a lecturer in surgery
at the University of Padua, Italy, and in 1559 he published a book called
De re anatomica in which he described the "seat of woman's delight".
Columbo concluded, "Since no one has discerned these projections
and their workings, if it is permissible to give names to things discovered by me,
it should be called the love or sweetness of Venus."
Columbo's claim was disputed by his successor at Padua, Gabriele Falloppio
(who discovered the fallopian tube), who claimed that he was the first to
discover the clitoris. Caspar Bartholin, a 17th century Danish anatomist,
dismissed both claims, arguing that the clitoris had been widely known
to medical science since the 2nd century.
Noted researchers Masters and Johnson, Boston based researcher John Garabedian,
and Dr. Matt Jaeger at the University of Kentucky all conducted extensive studies
of the clitoris.
In the 1970s, the word clitoris was considered offensive in the spoken English language
and is still seen as a taboo word by many people. The first use of clitoris on television
in the United States is believed to have been by Dr. Rich O'Brien, a Harvard colleague
of Garabedian's, on the Dr. Ruth Westheimer show.
The Clitoris in History
Unlike the penis, of which it is usually described as the female homologue,
the clitoris does not enjoy an array of nicknames, euphemisms or slang terms.
There is even some controversy as to its pronunciation, whether this should be
clitt-oris or cly-toris, dictionaries vary and some give both as correct
(although the OED prefers 'cly-toris) but this means that there is still a decision
to be made which may cause hesitation in referring to this organ in speech.
The derivation of the word is commonly alleged to derive from the Greek 'Kleis'
meaning key but there is some philological debate about this, as discussed
in a 1937 article by Professor Marcel Cohen reprinted by Thomas Power Lowry
in The Classic Clitoris (1978).
The anatomy of the clitoris was described in 1559 by Renaldus Columbus of Padua,
who claimed that previous anatomists had overlooked the very existence of
'so pretty a thing'. His primacy was however contested by another eminent
anatomist of Padua, Gabrielo Fallopio. Although they claimed to have discovered
this organ, since antiquity there had been a powerful belief that mutual orgasm
was necessary for conception, which suggests that, though unnamed, the clitoris
was known to be there.