What is the anatomical structure of the clitoris and its parts?
Executive summary
The clitoris is a complex, mostly internal erectile organ whose small external glans is only the tip of a Y‑shaped structure made of erectile tissue, crura, and bulbous components that are richly innervated and central to female sexual pleasure [1] [2]. Modern imaging and dissection have revised textbook simplicity, showing broad attachments to the pubic arch and variability in extent and nerve distribution, while some terms and interpretations (for example “clitoral bulbs”) remain debated among anatomists and sexologists [3] [4].
1. The visible tip: glans and hood — small but densely innervated
The glans clitoris is the external, readily visible portion at the apex of the vulva and is covered by the clitoral hood; it contains a very high density of sensory nerve endings and is the most commonly stimulated site during sexual activity [5] [6]. Sources consistently describe the glans as the primary external erogenous part but emphasize that it represents only a few millimeters of a larger organ [7] [8].
2. The internal body: shaft (corpora) and Y‑shaped architecture
Beneath the glans lies the body or shaft of the clitoris, formed by paired corpora cavernosa that extend internally and give the organ an upside‑down Y or wishbone configuration with two crura that run along the ischiopubic rami [5] [9]. MRI and dissection studies show the clitoris has a multiplanar shape with broad attachments to the pubic arch and supporting tissues reaching into the mons pubis and labia, meaning a single 2D diagram typically underrepresents its three‑dimensional extent [3] [9].
3. Crura and bulbs: erectile extensions and the vestibular relationship
The crura are long legs of erectile tissue branching from the clitoral body, and adjacent vestibular (often historically called “clitoral”) bulbs are paired erectile structures that swell with blood during arousal and sit beside the vaginal wall; together they form an erectile complex that can be stimulated directly or indirectly [5] [9]. There is professional debate about terminology and embryological origin — some anatomists reject calling the vestibular bulbs “clitoral bulbs,” arguing they are distinct structures formed from different embryologic tissues, a critique articulated in a review that warns against some sexologists’ broader claims [4].
4. Nerves, blood flow, and function: explanation for sensitivity
The clitoris is highly innervated — dissection and histological mapping demonstrate concentrated dorsal nerve branches and a vascular erectile network that engorges during arousal, functioning analogously to the penis in sensation and erection but differing in size, shape and placement [10] [1]. This rich nerve supply underlies the clitoris’s role as a primary source of orgasmic response, while researchers note variability between individuals and possible age‑related differences in tissue extent [10] [2].
5. Clinical implications and why anatomy matters in surgery
Because the clitoris has extensive internal components and nerve distributions, inadequate surgical awareness can risk sensory loss; experts such as O’Connell and colleagues argued that limited training on clitoral nerve anatomy may have contributed to surgical damage in the past [10] [11]. Contemporary anatomical reconstructions using MRI and microdissection aim to guide safer gynecologic and reconstructive procedures and inform debates about genital surgery and repair after trauma or female genital mutilation [3] [9].
6. Variability, history, and contested claims
Anatomical descriptions have evolved: historical anatomists sometimes denied or minimized the clitoris, and modern work in the 1990s–2000s recharacterized it as a complex organ, but not all newer claims are unanimous — for instance, some proposed large external arcs and long clitoral lengths are disputed on embryological or evidentiary grounds [11] [4]. Reviews caution that while many sources now describe internal crura and bulbous erectile tissue as functionally linked to the clitoris, precise nomenclature and the relationship to vaginal sensation (the so‑called “G‑spot” debates) remain areas of active study rather than settled fact [2] [4].
7. Bottom line: a distributed pleasure organ, not a single nub
The clitoris should be understood as an organ with a small external glans and a larger internal erectile body, crura, and adjacent bulbs that together create the primary locus of female sexual sensation; its anatomy is three‑dimensional, variable among individuals, clinically important, and the subject of ongoing anatomical and terminological debate [1] [3] [2].