Circumcision

Circumcision is surgery that removes some or all of the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin circum (meaning "around") and caedere (meaning "to cut").

Circumcision predates recorded human history, with depictions in stone-age cave drawings and Ancient Egyptian tombs. 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. Male circumcision is a religious commandment in Judaism, expected in Islam, and customary in some Oriental Orthodox and other Christian churches in Africa.

Circumcision is customary in Muslim countries, the United States, the Philippines, South Korea. and Israel. Genital integrity supporters condemn infant circumcision as a human rights abuse and a genital mutilation like female genital cutting, while advocates of circumcision regard it as a worthwhile public health measure, particularly in the control of HIV. Circumcision may also be used to treat inflammation of the glans and penile cancer. Using circumcision to treat phimosis is debated in medical literature.