Lord Raffles
New member
- Circumcision predates recorded human history, with depictions found in stone-age cave drawings and Ancient Egyptian tombs.
- The origins of the practice are lost in antiquity. Theories include that circumcision is a form of ritual sacrifice or offering, a health precaution, a sign of submission to a deity, a rite of passage to adulthood, a mark of defeat or slavery, or an attempt to alter esthetics or sexuality.
- Three randomised trials carried out in African areas of high HIV infection have provided evidence that a man's risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse is halved if he is circumcised.
- Circumcision may be used to treat inflammation of the glans penis and penile cancer. The use of circumcision to treat phimosis is debated in medical literature.
- Some cultures circumcise their males either shortly after birth, in childhood or around puberty, when it may be part of a rite of passage. Geographically, circumcision is prevalent in Muslim countries, the United States, the Philippines and South Korea. It is less prevalent in Europe, Latin America, China and India. Among religious groups, circumcision is most prevalent among Jews and Muslims.
- Circumcision removes the foreskin from the penis. For infant circumcision, clamps, such as the Gomco clamp, Plastibell, and Mogen are often used.
- Circumcision in South Korea is largely the result of American cultural and military influence following the Korean War. The origin of circumcision in the Philippines is uncertain. One newspaper article speculates that it is due to the influence of western colonizers. However, Antonio de Morga's seventeenth century History of the Philippine Islands, speculates that it is due to Islamic influence.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FACT FINDERS!
