The clitoris is a female sex organ that is part of the vulva. Known as the pleasure center of the vulva, the clitoris has more than ten thousand nerve endings. Therefore, it is extremely sensitive to touch and stimulation. Still, there is a lot that is not widely known about the clitoris. The following are a few common myths about the clitoris as well as the corresponding facts.

MYTH: The clitoris is a small, button-like organ.

FACT: Although the visible part of the clitoris is small and located under a fold of skin known as the clitoral hood above the vaginal opening and urethra, there is much more to the clitoris than what meets the eye. In fact, this nub is just the tip of the clitoris, known as the glans clitoris. The rest of the clitoris is a complex system of spongy erectile tissues and nerves that extends inside of the body, surrounds the urethra, and runs along both sides of the vagina.

MYTH: The clitoris is an external organ.

FACT: As the previous debunked myth implies, much of the clitoris is internal. The internal structure of the clitoris has a shape that could be compared to a wishbone. It is made up of the clitoral body (corpora), crura, and vestibular bulbs. Behind the glans at the top of the wishbone shape is the clitoral body. The clitoral body splits into a pair of structures made of erectile tissue called the crura that create a V-shape around the urethra and vaginal canal. The two vestibular bulbs are located between the crura and the vaginal wall. These bulbs are also made of erectile tissue and swell when a woman is aroused.

MYTH: The clitoris has always been well-studied and understood.

FACT: While investigations into the form and function of the clitoris have appeared in medical literature over time, early researchers often omitted key information or even included false information. Historically, the clitoris has been quite understudied and misunderstood. Only in recent years has the true anatomy of the clitoris been revealed. Professor Helen O’Connell, an Australian urological surgeon, was the first person to correctly map the anatomical structure of the clitoris in 1998.

MYTH: Clitoral orgasms and vaginal orgasms are separate entities.

FACT: Classifying an orgasm as “clitoral” means that a woman achieves the orgasm from stimulation of the glans clitoris, while a “vaginal orgasm” is an orgasm that comes from vaginal penetration. However, in reality, the vagina has few nerve endings, so its stimulation cannot lead to orgasm. Instead, vaginal orgasms are related to the stimulation of the internal body of the clitoris that surrounds the vaginal canal.

References:

• O’Connell, H.E., Sanjeevan, K.V., & Hutson, J.M. (2005). Anatomy of the clitoris. The Journal of urology, 174(4), 1189-1195. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ju.0000173639.38898.cd
  
  
• Peters, B. (2022). How may nerve fibers innervate the human clitoris? A histomorphometric evaluation of the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society of Sexual Medicine and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America, Miami, Florida.