For the first time, medical science possesses a comprehensive three-dimensional map of the intricate nerve network within the clitoris, a landmark achievement that directly challenges and corrects longstanding anatomical errors in medical understanding.
Unprecedented detail corrects the historical record
The research, led by Ju Young Lee at Amsterdam University Medical Center, used high-energy X-ray scans to chart the nerves within two donated female pelvises. The resulting 3D map reveals five complex, tree-like branching nerves running through the clitoris, the widest measuring 0.7mm across. Crucially, it shows that some of what medics have been learning about its anatomy is wrong.
A key correction involves the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. Previous anatomical teaching indicated this major nerve gradually diminished as it approached the sensitive glans. The new, high-resolution scans definitively show the nerve continues strongly all the way to the organ’s tip. “I was especially fascinated by the high-resolution images within the glans,” said Georga Longhurst, head of anatomical sciences at St George’s, University of London, noting these terminal branches are impossible to see during standard dissection.
The mapping also details how nerve branches extend far beyond the glans—which represents only 10% of the total organ—reaching the mons pubis, the clitoral hood, and the labial structures via the posterior labial nerve. This illustrates the clitoris’s extensive influence and challenges any notion of it being a small, isolated structure.
An organ ‘deleted intellectually’
This breakthrough follows decades of profound scientific neglect. The clitoris has been described as one of the least-studied organs in the human body, a situation experts attribute to cultural taboos around female sexuality. The clitoris was absent from standard anatomy textbooks until the 38th edition of Gray’s Anatomy in 1995, and even then was minimally described.
Melbourne urologist Helen O’Connell, who published the first comprehensive anatomical study of the clitoris in 1998, states the organ was “deleted intellectually by the medical and scientific community, presumably aligning attitude to a societal ignorance.” She has described this historical omission as an “intellectual clitoridectomy,” noting her own 1980s medical textbooks contained exhaustive detail on penile anatomy while barely mentioning the clitoris.
The disparity in research is stark: a similar detailed map of penile nerves was completed 28 years ago, in 1998. Recent histological studies suggest the clitoris has a far higher innervation density than the penis, with a 2022 study counting over 10,000 nerve fibres, indicating it is more sensitive than previously understood.
From theory to clinical application
The new map has significant and immediate implications for multiple surgical fields, where preserving sexual function is paramount. A primary application is in reconstructive surgery for survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM). The World Health Organization states more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, which often involves removal of clitoral tissue.
Ju Young Lee notes that about 22% of women who undergo surgical reconstruction after mutilation experience a decline in orgasmic experience post-operation. A precise understanding of nerve pathways could help reduce that percentage, with existing studies showing reconstructive surgery can significantly improve clitoral sensitivity for FGM survivors.
The research will also inform surgery for vulvar cancer, gender-affirming procedures, and the rapidly increasing field of genital cosmetic surgery. Labiaplasty saw a 70% increase in popularity between 2015 and 2020 in the UK, with another study noting a 68% search increase between 2022 and 2024. Understanding the precise “danger zone” of the dorsal clitoral nerve is essential to prevent accidental damage during such procedures, which some experts warn is being driven by unrealistic aesthetic ideals.
Helen O’Connell emphasises the fundamental importance of this anatomical knowledge, stating that orgasm is a brain function linked to improved health, wellbeing, and human relationships. The research, reported on the preprint server bioRxiv and not yet peer-reviewed, represents a major step toward ending the medical marginalisation of female sexual anatomy. Inspired by institutions like London’s Vagina Museum, Ju Young Lee now hopes to open a clitoris exhibition at Amsterdam University Medical Center to further public and professional education.