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Almost all mammal penises have foreskins or prepuces, although in non-human cases, the foreskin is usually a sheath (sometimes called the preputial sheath, praeputium or penile sheath) into which the whole penis is retracted. In koalas, the foreskin contains naturally occurring bacteria that play an important role in fertilization. In some bat species, the prepuce contains an erectile tissue structure called the accessory corpus cavernosum.

During musth, a male elephant may urinate with the penis still in the sheath, which causes the urine to spray on the hind legs.

Male dogs have a conspicuous penis sheath.

In stallions, the retractor penis muscle contracts to retract the stallion's penis into the sheath and relaxes to allow the penis to extend from the sheath.

The penis sheath of a male axis deer is elongated and urine-stained. When rubbing trees with their horns, these stags sometimes move the penis back and forth rapidly inside its sheath. Male bison and fallow deer have tufts of fur at the end of their penis sheaths.

In rodents, the length of the prepuce is related to urine marking behavior.

See also

• Clitoral sheath
• Horse sheath cleaning
• Preputial glands, glands which are found in the prepuce of some male mammals

References

1. Fahmy, Mohamed A. Baky. "Prepuce." Rare Congenital Genitourinary Anomalies. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2015. 33-41.
2. Edward C. Feldman (2004). Canine and feline endocrinology and reproduction. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 934–. ISBN 978-0-7216-9315-6. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
3. Horst Erich König; Hans-Georg Hans-Georg; H. Bragulla (2007). Veterinary Anatomy of Domestic Mammals: Textbook and Colour Atlas. Schattauer Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7945-2485-3. Archived from the original on 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
4. The behavior guide to African mammals: including hoofed mammals, carnivores, primates. University of California Press. 1991. pp. 116–. ISBN 978-0-520-08085-0. Retrieved 25 April 2013. penile sheath OR penis sheath OR prepuce.
5. "UQ researchers unlock another koala secret". Uq.edu.au. 2001-05-09. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
6. Elizabeth G. Crichton; Philip H. Krutzsch (12 June 2000). Reproductive Biology of Bats. Academic Press. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-0-08-054053-5.
7. Sukumar, pp. 100–08.
8. George B. Schaller (15 October 2009). The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations. University of Chicago Press. pp. 329–. ISBN 978-0-226-73660-0. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
9. "The Stallion: Breeding Soundness Examination & Reproductive Anatomy". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archived from the original on 2007-07-16. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
10. Valerius Geist (1998). Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour and Ecology. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0496-0. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
11. Fiona Reid (15 November 2006). Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America: Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-547-34553-6. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
12. Maruniak, J. A., Claude Desjardins, and F. H. Bronson. "Adaptations for urinary marking in rodents: Prepuce length and morphology Archived 2018-07-20 at the Wayback Machine." Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 44.3 (1975): 567-570.

Further reading

• Heide Schatten; Gheorghe M. Constantinescu (21 March 2008). Comparative Reproductive Biology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-39025-2.
• Peter J Chenoweth; Steven Lorton (30 April 2014). Animal Andrology: Theories and Applications. CABI. ISBN 978-1-78064-316-8.
• Kristin J. Holtgrew-Bohling (12 March 2014). Large Animal Clinical Procedures for Veterinary Technicians. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 978-0-323-29035-7.
• Mating Reflexes. Ardent Media. 1974. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-0-8422-7236-0. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
• N. Norman Edward Robinson; Kim A. Sprayberry (2009). Current Therapy in Equine Medicine 6. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 760–. ISBN 978-1-4160-5475-7. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
• Auguste Chauveau (1887). The Comparative anatomy of the domesticated animals. D. Appleton & Company. pp. 869–. Retrieved 11 May 2013. penile sheath OR penis sheath OR preputial sheath OR prepuce.
• Richard Doty (1 January 1976). Mammalian Olfaction, Reproductive Processes, and Behavior. Elsevier Science. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-0-323-15450-5. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
• Catherine Lamm; Chelsea Makloski (28 May 2012). Theriogenology, An Issue of Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-1-4557-4447-3. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
• Donald Chapman; Norma Chapman (1975). Fallow Deer: Their History, Distribution, and Biology. Dalton. ISBN 978-0-900963-50-6. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
• David M. Shackleton (1999). Hoofed mammals of British Columbia. UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0728-9. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
• Leonard Lee Rue (2 August 2004). The encyclopedia of deer: your guide to the world's deer species including whitetails, mule deer, caribou, elk, moose, and more. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-89658-590-4. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
• Heather Smith Thomas (2009). The Cattle Health Handbook: Preventive Care, Disease Treatments & Emergency Procedures for Promoting the Well-being of Your Beef Or Dairy Herd. Storey Pub. ISBN 978-1-60342-090-7. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
• Thomas J. Divers (2008). Rebhun's diseases of dairy cattle. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 978-1-4160-3137-6. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
• Debra M. Eldredge; Delbert G. Carlson; Liisa D. Carlson; James M. Giffin (7 January 2008). Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-22767-1. Retrieved 7 June 2013.

• Mammal male reproductive system
• Penis