Frenulum breve

Frenulum breve, or short frenulum, is a condition in which the frenulum of the penis, which is an elastic band of tissue under the glans penis that connects to the foreskin and helps contract it over the glans, is too short and thus restricts the movement of the foreskin. The frenulum should normally be sufficiently long and supple to allow for the full retraction of the foreskin so that it lies smoothly back on the shaft of the erect penis. The penile frenulum is comparable to the tongue's frenulum between the tongue's lower surface and the lower jaw, or the frenulum between the upper lip and the outside of the upper gum. A frenulum breve leads to ventral deviation of the glans and pain during erection. Sometimes, tearing of the frenulum causes heavy bleeding. The tearing of frenulum breve occurs particularly during sexual activity of young men. Frenulum breve may be complicated by tearing of the frenulum during sexual or other activity and is a cause of dyspareunia. The torn frenulum may result in healing with scar tissue that is less flexible after the incident causing further difficulties. However, this tearing can also solve the problem, healing such that the frenulum is longer and therefore no longer problematic. A short frenulum can present in various grades of severity, and its diagnosis may depend on the subjective criteria of evaluation at physical examination in a medical office as there is no standard definition. Frenulum restricts the movement of the prepuce, even when not causing obvious phimosis. When the foreskin is completely retracted over the glans, a short frenulum tugs down the glans. One study arbitrarily defined a “short frenulum” as that which causes a ventral curvature of the glans major of 20° or more upon gentle retraction of the foreskin in the clinic. Short frenulum in this study was a common cause of premature ejaculation, and frenuloplasty significantly improved the ejaculation latency. Short frenulum may be more sensitive in subjects with premature ejaculation.