For years, a key part of the female anatomy was surrounded by information gaps. Now, a group of researchers from Amsterdam UMC presented The most detailed map yet of the internal nerve network of the clitoris.
It is an advance that shows a more complex structure than previously believed and that could help improve different surgeries in the pelvic area.
What they found in the new map of the clitoris
The work reconstructed in three dimensions the course of the dorsal nerve, considered the main sensory nerve of the area.
To do so, the team used high-resolution images obtained with a synchrotron X-ray source, a technique that made it possible to observe details that could not be seen with the same precision in previous studies.
According to the results, the nervous network has a more complex path and branching than previous anatomical models suggested.
The researchers identified five main nerve trunks within the glans, with a tree-like branching pattern, and noted that some branches project toward the hood and mons pubis.
The study was led by Ju Young Lee and is part of the project Human Organ Atlasaimed at generating very high definition human anatomical images.
Why this finding can change surgeries
The authors maintain that this new map can be useful to improve pelvic and reconstructive surgeries, since a more precise description of the nervous anatomy It would help reduce unintentional damage during certain procedures.
Among the possible applications are oncological interventions in the region and reconstructive surgeries in survivors of female genital mutilation.
The discovery also puts the focus back on a part of the body historically less studied than other areas of the body. human anatomy.
Coverage of this breakthrough highlighted that comparable mapping of the penis had been achieved decades earlier, while in this case detailed information is only now beginning to be consolidated.
A strong advance, but with a clear limit
The researchers themselves raise an important caution. The work has not yet undergone peer review and was based on the analysis of two donated pelvises postmortem, so More evidence will be needed to confirm and expand these results..
Even so, the study marks a relevant step in the understanding female anatomy. It does not close the discussion: it opens it. And it does so with a strong, concrete and difficult to ignore fact: the internal nervous network was more complex than what was taught until now.
