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The 'baculum' (also 'penis bone', 'penile bone' or '''os penis''') is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans, equids, marsupials, lagomorphs, and hyenas, amongst others. It is used for copulation and varies in size and shape by species. Its characteristics are sometimes used to differentiate between similar species.
The oosik of Native Alaskan cultures is a polished and sometimes carved baculum of various large northern carnivores such as walruses. The raccoon baculum is sometimes worn as a luck or fertility charm.
The word ''baculum'' originally meant "stick" or "staff" in Latin. The homologue to the baculum in female mammals is known as the 'baubellum' or '''os clitoridis'''.
Clellan S. Ford and Frank A Beach, ''Patterns of Sexual Behavior'', p. 30 says "Both gorillas and chimpanzees possess a penile bone. In the latter species the os penis is located in the lower part of the organ and measures approximately three-quarters of an inch in length."
In humans, which lack the baculum and baubellum, the rigidity of the erection is provided entirely through blood pressure in the corpus cavernosum. Humans occasionally are born with the penile bone. It is generally surgically removed.

Contents

Examples

Absence in humans

See also

References

External links

Examples

Animals with a penile bone include:

★ Primates (excluding humans)

★ Canids

★ Felids

★ Rats

★ Walruses

★ Raccoons

Absence in humans

The zoologist Richard Dawkins speculated in 2006, that the loss of the bone in humans, when it is present in our nearest related species the chimpanzee, is probably a result of sexual selection by females looking for signs of good health in prospective mates. The reliance of the human penis solely on hydraulic means to achieve a rigid state makes it particularly vulnerable to blood pressure variation. Poor erectile function betrays not only physical states such as diabetes and neurological disorders but mental states such as stress and depression. ^[1]

See also

★ Oosik

★ Raccoon penis bone

References

1. The Selfish Gene, , Richard, Dawkins, , ,


★ Gilbert, Scott F. and Ziony Zevit. 2001. Congenital human baculum deficiency: The generative bone of Genesis 2:21–23. American Journal of Medical Genetics 101(3): 284–285.

★ Clellan S. And Frank A. Beach 1951 ''Patterns of Sexual Behavior'' Publisher: N.Y., Harper, and Paul B. Hoeber, Inc. Medical Books (ISBN 0313223556)

External links

★ Beresford WA, Burkart S. The penile bone and anterior process of the rat in scanning electron microscopy. ''J Anat.'' 1977 Dec;124(3):589–97.

★ The San Diego Zoo's Conservation and research for endangered species projects. 'What is the significance of the baculum in animals?'