The corona of glans penis (or, directly from the
Latin, the corona glandis penis[1]) or penis crown refers to the rounded projecting border or flare that forms at the base of the
glans in
human males. The corona overhangs a
mucosal surface, known as the neck of the
penis, which separates the shaft and the glans.[2] The deep retro-glandular coronal
sulcus forms between the corona and the neck of the penis. The two sides of the corona merge on the ventral midline forming the
septum glandis.[3] The circumference of the corona is richly
innervated and is described as a highly erogenous area of the glans.[4]
Structure
Development
During the
embryonic development of the male fetus, a thickening on the
epidermis appears around the base of the developing glans.[5] The thickening separates from the glans creating the preputial fold and the preputial lamina on its ventral surface.[6] The lamina expands outwards over the
epithelium of the glans and also backwards forming an ingrowing fold at the base of the glans that will become the coronal sulcus.[7]
Vascularization
The corona and the neck are highly
vascularized areas of the penis. The axial and
dorsal penile arteries merge together at the neck before entering the glans.[8] Branches of the dorsal artery of the penis curve around the distal shaft to enter the
frenulum and the glans from its ventral surface.[9] Small venous tributaries deriving from the corona drain the glans forming a venous retro-coronal
plexus before merging with the
dorsal veins.[8]
In some males, small skin-colored bumps, known as
pearly penile papules, may appear at the circumference of the corona. Their appearance may vary from being hardly noticeable in some men to more prominent and well-defined in others. The papules are painless, harmless and non sexually transmitted. They usually appear in late puberty and are thought to disappear with age.[13] Even though they do not require treatment, they can easily be removed, especially for aesthetic purposes.[14]
Gallery
3. Coronal sulcus 4. Corona of the glans
The glans penis of an uncircumcised and a circumcised male
Corona of glans penis
References
^The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. Vol. 75. 1878. p. 52.