Issue Information

Cover Illustration: Schematic illustrations depicting the pre-corpuscular (hyperinnervation) and corpuscular (neural pruning) stages of human fetal penile neurodevelopment in sagittal view.(A-C) Pre-corpuscular stage.(D) Corpuscular stage.(A) 8 weeks.Preputial development has not yet begun.The prominent dorsal nerve has penetrated the glans, branching extensively and terminating ventrally in the prospective frenular region.Nerve fibers are present at the distal tip of the glans, with high mesenchymal neural density in the developing ventral periurethral region (urethral folds).Intraepithelial nerve fibers, however, remain sparse to absent.The penile surface epithelium begins to thicken, whereas corporeal vascular spaces and innervation are still absent.(B) 12 weeks.Early prepuce emerges with nerve fibers in its distal tips.Ventral preputial intraepithelial nerve fibers begin to peak in density within a disproportionately thickened epithelium.(C) 16 weeks.Preputial development progresses, with intraepithelial nerve fibers reaching their peak density within the thickened ventral preputial epithelium, which simultaneously attains its maximum thickness.Developing sensory corpuscles are not yet detectable.(D) 24 weeks.The prepuce fully covers the glans, extending beyond its distal tip.Immature Pacinian corpuscles are distributed across all penile regions, including the prepuce, glans, frenular region, scrotum, areas adjacent to the tunica albuginea, the plane between the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum, the penile bulb, the perineal skin beneath the bulbospongiosus muscle, and rarely within the corpora cavernosa.Neural pruning of intraepithelial nerve fibers, a defining feature of this stage, occurs concurrently with the thinning of the ventral preputial epithelium.However, stromal neural densities beneath the epithelium remain high, particularly in the prospective frenular region.The corporeal bodies exhibit vascular spaces and innervation.