- Preputial gland
Preputial glands are
exocrine gland s that are located in front of thegenital s of somemammal s and producepheromone s. The preputial glands of female animals are sometimes called clitoral glands.The best studied preputial glands are those of the
House Mouse and theBrown Rat , because these two species are importantmodel organism s and because their preputial glands are very similar in structure to the (much smaller)sebaceous gland s of humans. The preputial glands of malemusk deer produce strong-smellingmusk which is of economic importance as it is used inperfume s. Humans do not have anatomical equivalents of the preputial glands described above. However, the term "preputial glands" or "Tyson's glands" is sometimes used for tiny whitish yellow pimples occasionally found on the corona of theglans penis and mistakenly believed to be glands involved in the production ofsmegma . The proper name for these structures ispearly penile papules (or hirsutoid papillomas); they are not glands but mere thickenings of the skin and are not involved in the formation of smegma. (Hyman 1969, Parkash 1982)References
* Hyman AB, Brownstein MH. Tyson's `glands': ectopic sebaceous glands and papillomatosis penis. Arch Derm 1969; 99: 31-6
* Parkash S, Rao R, Venkatesan K, Ramakrishnan S. Sub-preputial wetness: its nature. Ann Natl Med Sci India 1982; 18: 109-12 [http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/prakash/ Fulltext]
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