Penile sheath

{{Short description|Non-human mammal foreskin}}

{{distinguish|Penis sheath (disambiguation)}}

{{about|the foreskin in non-human mammals|the foreskin in humans specifically|Foreskin}}

Almost all mammal penises have foreskins or prepuces,Fahmy, Mohamed A. Baky. "Prepuce." Rare Congenital Genitourinary Anomalies. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2015. 33-41. although in non-human cases, the foreskin is usually a sheath (sometimes called the preputial sheath,{{cite book|author=Edward C. Feldman|title=Canine and feline endocrinology and reproduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elPuvsucuY8C&q=%28prepuce+OR+%22penile+sheath%22+OR+preputial%29|accessdate=25 April 2013|year=2004|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-7216-9315-6|pages=934–|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231131757/http://books.google.com/books?id=elPuvsucuY8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=(prepuce%20OR%20%22penile%20sheath%22%20OR%20preputial)&f=false|archive-date=31 December 2013|url-status=live}} praeputium{{cite book|author1=Horst Erich König|author2=Hans-Georg Hans-Georg|author3=H. Bragulla|title=Veterinary Anatomy of Domestic Mammals: Textbook and Colour Atlas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoXiBjSp368C&q=prepuce|year=2007|publisher=Schattauer Verlag|isbn=978-3-7945-2485-3|access-date=2019-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511222813/https://books.google.com/books?id=QoXiBjSp368C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=prepuce&f=false|archive-date=2016-05-11|url-status=live}} or penile sheath{{cite book|title=The behavior guide to African mammals: including hoofed mammals, carnivores, primates|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858|url-access=registration|quote=penile sheath OR penis sheath OR prepuce.|accessdate=25 April 2013|year=1991|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-08085-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/116 116]–}}) into which the whole penis is retracted. In koalas, the foreskin contains naturally occurring bacteria that play an important role in fertilization.{{cite web |url=http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=2193 |title=UQ researchers unlock another koala secret |publisher=Uq.edu.au |date=2001-05-09 |accessdate=2012-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512022713/http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=2193 |archive-date=2013-05-12 |url-status=live }} In some bat species, the prepuce contains an erectile tissue structure called the accessory corpus cavernosum.{{cite book|author1=Elizabeth G. Crichton|author2=Philip H. Krutzsch|title=Reproductive Biology of Bats|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1aNgZwGsYoC&q=prepuce+OR+preputial&pg=PA104|date=12 June 2000|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-08-054053-5|pages=104–}}

File:Great Dane sheath.jpg]]

During musth, a male elephant may urinate with the penis still in the sheath, which causes the urine to spray on the hind legs.Sukumar, pp. 100–08.

Male dogs have a conspicuous penis sheath.{{cite book|author=George B. Schaller|title=The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ann2dYn9iYC&q=urinate+sheath+canid&pg=PA329|accessdate=10 February 2013|date=15 October 2009|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-73660-0|pages=329–|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528112303/http://books.google.com/books?id=7ann2dYn9iYC&pg=PA329&dq=urinate+sheath+canid&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IvEXUZUCz4bRAcGugdAB&ved=0CEsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=urinate%20sheath%20canid&f=false|archive-date=28 May 2013|url-status=live}}

File:Inguinal cryptorchid 1.JPG with cryptorchidism]]

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.{{cite web|title=The Stallion: Breeding Soundness Examination & Reproductive Anatomy|publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison|url=http://www.wisc.edu/ansci_repro/101equinelab/reproduction/stallion_exam.html|accessdate=7 July 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716140038/http://www.wisc.edu/ansci_repro/101equinelab/reproduction/stallion_exam.html|archivedate=2007-07-16}}

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.{{cite book|author=Valerius Geist|title=Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour and Ecology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcWZX-IMEVkC&q=sheath|accessdate=11 May 2013|year=1998|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=978-0-8117-0496-0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623213718/https://books.google.com/books?id=bcWZX-IMEVkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=sheath&f=false|archive-date=23 June 2016|url-status=live}} Male bison and fallow deer have tufts of fur at the end of their penis sheaths.{{cite book|author=Fiona Reid|title=Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America: Fourth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSsg8713NCQC&q=penis+sheath|accessdate=11 May 2013|date=15 November 2006|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-547-34553-6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623221707/https://books.google.com/books?id=BSsg8713NCQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=penis%20sheath&f=false|archive-date=23 June 2016|url-status=live}}

In rodents, the length of the prepuce is related to urine marking behavior.Maruniak, J. A., Claude Desjardins, and F. H. Bronson. "[http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/44/3/567.full.pdf Adaptations for urinary marking in rodents: Prepuce length and morphology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720091332/http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/44/3/567.full.pdf |date=2018-07-20 }}." Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 44.3 (1975): 567-570.