Scientists Made Advancements On Clitoris Mapping

Photo from Unsplash | Scientist are continuing to make discoveries about the female reproductive system.

Australian urologist Helen O’Connell has completed mapping the structure of the clitoris. The clitoris is an organ responsible for women’s sexual pleasure. O’Connell started her research in the late 1990s and early 2000s, publishing the “Anatomical Relationship between Urethra and Clitoris” in 1998 and co-authored the “Journal of Urology” in 2005. The mapping of the clitoral nerves was finished in March 2026, 30 years after the penis was mapped. The clitoris has been considered a “taboo” and did not appear in anatomy textbooks until the 20th century.

O’Connells’ map shows that the old maps of the anatomy of the clitoris were wrong because of out-dated or insufficient data. Because of the 3D printed model made by Dr. Ea Mulligan, we are able to learn more about the clitoris’ parts accurately.

O’Connell was inspired to research the clitoris after seeing her anatomy textbooks did not represent the female genitalia enough.

“There’s the norm that’s the male, and then we’ve got kind of this subset over here who are not male,” O’Connell states (from The Guardian).

Not only is the clitoris underresearched, it has also been ignored.

O’Connell expressed, “It has been deleted intellectually by the medical and scientific community, presumably aligning attitudes to societal ignorance.”

The clitoris has been defined as an inferior counterpart to the penis. For example, in the 38th edition of Gray's Anatomy in 1995, it was described as a “smaller version of the penis.” Only 11 articles worldwide have been published on the clitoris since the 1940s. These articles were related to restoring the clitoris if it was affected by any damage like female genital mutilation or cliteradectomy.

“We see literature doubting the importance of female orgasm, entertaining the argument that from an evolutionary standpoint, female orgasm could merely be a byproduct of selection on male orgasm,” says O’Connell.

Because of this new research, it can improve pelvic surgeries such as cancer treatments and cosmetic procedures, avoiding any injuries to the clitoris. It can also help reconstruction surgeries for survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Transforming our understanding of the female sexual organs can prevent further damage and undo historical inaccuracies of womens health.