CIRCUMCISION:
An Evidence-Based Appraisal
MEDICAL, HEALTH & SEXUAL
New brochures and key publications are on homepage.
Circumcision is a very popular procedure. The purpose of this website is to provide a balanced up-to-date evidence-based review of scientific studies on male circumcision that have been published mainly in reputable international medical and scientific journals after a formal, critical refereeing process by experts in the field.
The information reviewed herein is the most extensive and accurate in the world. Listed are over 1,000 references. Most can be found by the reader in any medical library or Internet referencing service, such as PubMed. The message they convey is quite clear and have helped in formulation of affirmative circumcision policy statements by major international and national organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the WHO, UNAIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Circumcision Foundation Australia over recent years.
It is the intention of the present overview to provide easily-accessible, reliable, balanced information that should be of assistance to parents, medical professionals, scholars, as well as men and their sexual partners. The author is a full professor in the medical faculty of a major university. He has over 40 years of scientific research experience and more than 320 research publications, including over 50 on circumcision, mostly in peer-reviewed international journals. As such he is often invited by journals, book publishers, professional organizations and the news media for his comments or other contributions.
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© Professor Brian Morris. (The author freely grants permission for others to copy and distribute this review, provided it is not for financial gain. Complete and accurate translation is also permitted.) |
Male Circumcision Brochure
- Information Guides in various languages
• Guide for Parents (Australian) PDF
• Guide for Parents (American version) PDF
• Guide for Parents - Afro (Black) PDF
• Guide for Parents (German) PDF
• Guide for Parents (French) PDF
• Guide for Parents (Spanish) PDF
• Guide for Parents in (Traditional Chinese) or (PRC; Mainland China)
Benefits of circumcision - a guide for men
Male Circumcision Brochure,
- an Information Guide for Women
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| • Guide for women (EN) PDF |
(Alternative cover picture)
SUMMARY
Circumcision of males represents a "surgical vaccine" against a wide variety of infections, adverse medical conditions and potentially fatal diseases over their lifetime, and also protects their sexual partners. In experienced hands, this common, inexpensive, simple procedure is very safe, and can be pain-free. Although it can be performed at any age, the ideal time is infancy. The benefits vastly outweigh risks.
The public health benefits are enormous, and include protection from urinary tract infections, that are common over the lifetime and often cause permanent kidney damage in babies, inferior genital hygiene, smegma, sexually transmitted HIV, oncogenic types of human papillomavirus, genital herpes, syphilis and chancroid, penile cancer, and possibly prostate cancer, phimosis, paraphimosis, thrush, and inflammatory skin conditions such as balanitis and balanoposthitis. In women circumcision of the male partner provides substantial protection from cervical cancer, genital herpes, bacterial vaginosis (formerly termed "gardnerella"), possibly Chlamydia (that can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy), and other infections.
Circumcision has socio-sexual benefits and reduces sexual problems with age and diabetes. It has no adverse effect on penile sensitivity, erectile function, or sensation during sexual arousal and is reported to enhance the sexual experience for men. Most women prefer the circumcised penis for appearance, hygiene, lower infection risk and sexual activity. At least half of all uncircumcised males will develop one or more problems over their lifetime caused by their foreskin, and many will suffer and die as a result. The benefits exceed the risks by over 100 to 1, and if the level of suffering and fatalities are taken into account in men and their sexual partners the benefit is orders of magnitude higher than this. Given the convincing epidemiological evidence and biological support, routine circumcision should be highly recommended by all health professionals and access facilitated by the health systems of every country.
Click the Links Below to Access pdf files
• Infant male circumcision: an evidence-based policy statement.
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine 2012; 2: 79-92.
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=17415
• American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 policy statement.
2012 AAP Policy
• A 'snip' in time: what is the best age to circumcise?
BMC Pediatrics 2012; 12 (article 20): 1-15.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/12/20
• Costs and effectiveness of neonatal male circumcision
Kacker S, Frick KD, Gaydos CA, Tobian AA.
Johns Hopkins University.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012 Aug 20 [Epub ahead of print]
• Why circumcision is a biomedical imperative for the 21st century.
BioEssays 2007; 29: 1147-58.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD:
(CircBioEssays07.pdf)
* A critical evaluation of arguments opposing male circumcision for HIV prevention in developed countries.
AIDS Care 2012: Dec issue (Epub ahead of print 28 Mar).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22452415
• Circumcision facts trump anti-circ fiction:
A medical perspective on a contentious issue.
The Skeptic 2007 (summer edition), pp 52-56.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD:
• (MorrisSkepticCirc07.pdf)
• Circumcision: who should you believe?
The Skeptic 2008 (winter edition), pp 55-59.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD:
• (MorrisSkeptic08.pdf)
Interviews
List of All Publications by Professor Brian Morris on circumcision
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