Hypospadias
Hypospadias is the name given to the condition where the male urethra - the tube that carries the urine from the bladder - does not open at the tip of the penis, but on its underside. It can be anywhere along the length of the penis - on the underside of the shaft, where the shaft joins the glans (called the corona) or on the underneath of the glans itself. There is associated failure of complete development of the foreskin, which only exists at the back, and looks like a hood. In some cases the penis is bent forward, called chordee. This condition arises because during foetal development there has been failure of correct fusion of the folds, called urethral folds, over a structure called the urethral groove. The condition is corrected surgically, and since it may require the use of the foreskin in the repair it is essential that boys with hypospadias are not circumcised.
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