Hi, my name is Tori and I am a doctor of physical therapy who specializes in pelvic dysfunction,
which means I treat things that can go wrong around the pelvis. This includes sexual dysfunction.
I recently put out a video all about the female orgasm, because I get a lot of questions in
clinic surrounding women’s abilities to orgasm from just vaginal penetration. A link
to that video will be in the description below! In that video, I offered to make another video
about women’s sexual anatomy, aka a video all about the clitoris! Since that video was
requested, here it is! A video all about the clitoris—where it comes from, its anatomy,
and its function.
Before we get started, I do want to say that I am still collecting anonymous data about
the female orgasm experience. So, if you have female genitalia and want to anonymously answer
a three question survey, that would be amazing and so appreciated. The link to that survey
will also be in the description below.
So, let’s start at the beginning and ask the question: where does the clitoris come
from?
The clitoris has long been a very mysterious organ. But the truth is, it’s just as “mysterious”
as the penis. After watching this video, I think you’ll agree—the real question isn’t
“what is the clitoris,” the real question is, is the clitoris a tiny penis, or is the
penis a really big clitoris? Or, asked another way—is the clitoris a female penis, or is
the penis a male clitoris?
During embryological development, or the development of a baby growing in its mom’s uterus, the
clitoris and the penis are the same. They originate from the same developmental tissue.
Just to remind you, the difference developmentally between a man and a woman is a chromosome.
Women have XX chromosomes, and men have XY chromosomes. So, when a baby is developing,
somewhere around 8 weeks into development, the expression of the Y chromosome—aka a
male—will cause that tissue to develop into a penis, where the absence of the Y chromosome—aka
a female—will cause that same tissue to develop into a clitoris. So again, the penis
and clitoris come from the same developmental tissue.
Structures that originate from the same developmental tissue are called homologues, and the clitoris
and penis aren’t the only ones. Another example of a homologous structure that we
are all very familiar with is the nipple. Men have nipples even though they don’t
produce milk and breastfeed babies, because nipples are programmed into the earliest stages
of development.
With this relationship in mind, let’s talk about the anatomy of the clitoris, and compare
it to a penis!
The clitoris has an external portion, and a huge internal portion.
Let’s start by looking externally at a play doh vulva made by yours truly. Here we have
two sets of vaginal lips—labia majora and labia minora. Spreading the labia, we can
see three things: the vagina itself, as in the vaginal canal that eventually leads to
the uterus. This is where babies come out during delivery, or a penis goes in during
heterosexual sex, the urethra which is the tube that connects to the bladder—this is
where pee comes out, and finally, above the urethra, the external portion of the clitoris.
The external portion is the part of the clitoris that you can see—it’s called the “glans
clitoris” and is about the size of a pea, located directly above the urethra. Above
the glans clitoris is the clitoral hood, formed by the connection of the two labia minora.
Let’s pause here and compare the external vulva and the external penis.
Here we have a play doh penis made again, by yours truly. Men don’t have lips, instead
they have scrotum skin and penile skin. The same skin that makes up labia majora in women
creates the scrotum in men. And labia minora is instead the penile skin.
Men do not have a vaginal canal, but they do have a urethra that connects to their bladders!
In men, the urethral opening is in the the head of the penis, and the uretha lives in
the shaft of the penis before connecting to the bladder. The head of the penis, aka the
“glans penis,” is the same tissue that creates the “glans clitoris” in women!
Finally, in the same way that the connection made between the two inner lips or labia minora
in women creates the clitoral hood—skin that covers or protects the glans clitoris,
that same skin creates foreskin in men—the skin that covers or protects the glans penis.
Now, on to the fun part—the internal portion of the clitoris, which is HUGE!
The glans clitoris—the external portion of the clitoris—accounts for a 1/5th or
less of its entire structure. “Most of the components of the clitoris are buried under
the skin and connective tissues of the vulva. It comprises an external glans and hood, and
an internal body, root, crura, and bulbs; its overall size is 9-11 cm.” That’s around
3.5 - 4.5 inches!
You guessed it, here is play doh clitoris in its entirety!
Connected to the glans clitoris is the clitoral body, which attaches to your pubic bone. Then,
the clitoral body splits in half to make the “legs” of the clitoris, which contain
the corpus cavernosum and the crura. Finally, we have the vestibular bulbs, which live both
through and behind the labia, and surround the urethra and vaginal canal.
The clitoral legs and bulbs are made out of erectile tissue, and they swell with blood
when a woman is sexually excited! Much like a penis swells with blood when a man is excited!
To help you see where this giant organ lives, imagine the labia majora and minora here,
and the clitoral hood here. And again, here is the vaginal canal, the urethra, and the
glans clitoris!
Let’s pause here and compare the internal clitoris and the internal penis.
When we look at the internal penis, here again is the glans penis. But check it out—the
penis also has that corpus cavernosum tissue and leads into crura, or legs. And, instead
of vestibular bulbs, the penis has the “bulb of penis.” Really, the only major difference
is that the penis also has the corpus spongiosum, which is the tissue that surrounds the urethra
as it makes it way through the shaft of the penis.
Guys, it’s the same tissue. Again, I ask you — is the clitoris a tiny penis, or is
the penis a really just a big clitoris?
Get this—no one knew about the full clitoral anatomy until the late 1990s, when researchers
finally studied the excited clitoris using an MRI—a tool researchers had been using
to study male anatomy back in the 70s. And an even bigger statement on how new this understanding
is, is outlined clearly in this 2005 article published in the journal of urology:
“Typical textbook descriptions of the clitoris lack detail and include inaccuracies. It is
impossible to convey clitoral anatomy in a single diagram showing only 1 plane, as is
typically provided in textbooks, which reveal it as a flat structure.”
In fact, it wasn’t until 2009 that the first 3D image of the stimulated clitoris was produced.
As in this information is less than 10 years old.
As a fun aside, it’s most likely the case that a true “G-spot” doesn’t exist,
and instead the g-spot is just part of the internal clitoris—I’d be happy to make
a video all about that as well—if you want to see it, let me know in the comments!
Let’s move on to the last question I proposed—what is the function of the clitoris? What does
it do?
There are two common explanations for the function of the clitoris. As we discussed,
the clitoris and the penis are homologues. However, the penis has a role that is crucial
to reproduction—male ejaculation.
We can’t reproduce without sperm, and sperm only make their way to eggs if they are ejaculated
through the penis and into a vagina. Said another way, male ejaculation is crucial for
sperm transfer. So one idea is that the clitoris and its ability to create an orgasm is a “byproduct”
of this homology—much like nipples in men, and should be celebrated as an awesome bonus
for women.
The other explanation focuses on evolutionary origin. We just said that the male orgasm
is super important because it is the basis of sperm transfer. Sperm can’t get to eggs
without it.
There is some evidence that the female orgasm was once responsible for releasing eggs, or
inducing ovulation. In female humans, ovulation isn’t induced. It’s spontaneous and a
regular part of our menstrual cycles. However, in other animals, ovulation isn’t spontaneous—it’s
induced with intercourse.
According to a 2016 study entitled “the evolutionary origin of the female orgasm,”
“…the female orgasm‐like trait may have been adaptive, however for a different role,
namely for inducing ovulation. With the evolution of spontaneous ovulation, orgasm was freed
to gain secondary roles, which may explain its maintenance, but not its origin.”
So, as far as we know, the clitoris may have previously existed to induce ovulation, or
maybe it’s a homologous bonus from embryological development. Regardless, as of right now,
the only role that we’ve discovered is pleasure. That’s right, an organ that exists solely
for sexual pleasure.
Whew, I
think that’s enough for
one video! Thank you all so much for watching! Please like and
share this video, let’s get this information out there and make it general, public knowledge!
Feel free to comment any questions or suggestions for future content below. Be sure to check
out my previous video all about the female orgasm, take that female orgasm survey if
you have female genitalia and want to participate—I would so appreciate it, and subscribe to my
channel for more content surrounding pelvic health! Thanks again for watching, and I’ll
see you in the next one, bye!