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Information about Baculum

Enlarge picture
A raccoon baculum.
The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone or os penis) is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans, equids, marsupials, lagomorphs, and hyenas, amongst others. It is used for copulation and varies in size and shape by species. Its characteristics are sometimes used to differentiate between similar species.

The oosik of Native Alaskan cultures is a polished and sometimes carved baculum of various large northern carnivores such as walruses. The raccoon baculum is sometimes worn as a luck or fertility charm.

The word baculum originally meant "stick" or "staff" in Latin. The homologue to the baculum in female mammals is known as the baubellum or os clitoridis.

Clellan S. Ford and Frank A Beach, Patterns of Sexual Behavior, p. 30 says "Both gorillas and chimpanzees possess a penile bone. In the latter species the os penis is located in the lower part of the organ and measures approximately three-quarters of an inch in length."

In humans, which lack the baculum and baubellum, the rigidity of the erection is provided entirely through blood pressure in the corpus cavernosum. Humans occasionally are born with the penile bone. It is generally surgically removed.

Examples

Enlarge picture
Penis bone (Os penis) of a dog, arrow shows the urethral sulcus.


Animals with a penile bone include:

Raccoon penis bone

A raccoon penis bone is the baculum of a raccoon. It is sometimes used as a charm for luck or fertility.[1]

Popular culture

Author JT LeRoy's story Sarah features raccoon penis bones,[2] as does William Gibson's novel, Count Zero.

Oosik

Oosik is a term used in Alaska to describe the baculum (penile bone) of walruses, seals, sea lions, and polar bears. Sometimes as long as 60 cm (2 ft), it can be polished and used as a handle for knives and other tools. It is also frequently sold as a souvenir to tourists by Alaska Natives, the only people permitted to hunt the walrus today. In 2007 a 4.5 foot long fossilized penis bone from an extinct species of walrus, believed by the seller to be the largest in existence, sold for $8000.[3]

Walrus baculum, approximately 22 inches long

Absence in humans

The zoologist Richard Dawkins speculated in 2006, that the loss of the bone in humans, when it is present in our nearest related species the chimpanzee, is probably a result of sexual selection by females looking for signs of good health in prospective mates. The reliance of the human penis solely on hydraulic means to achieve a rigid state makes it particularly vulnerable to blood pressure variation. Poor erectile function betrays not only physical states such as diabetes and neurological disorders but mental states such as stress and depression. [4]

References

Notes

1. ^ Raccoon Penis Bones (HTML). The Lucky W Amulet Archive by Cat Yronwode. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
2. ^ jt leroy - sarah faq (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
3. ^ Walrus penis sells for $8,000 at Beverly Hills action (HTML). AP. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
4. ^ Dawkins, Richard [1978] (2006). The Selfish Gene, 30th anniversary edition, p158 endnote. ISBN 0199291144. “It is not implausible that, with natural selection refining their diagnostic skills, females could glean all sorts of clues about a male’s health, and robustness of his ability to cope with stress, from the tone and bearing of his penis. 

General references

  • Gilbert, Scott F. and Ziony Zevit. 2001. Congenital human baculum deficiency: The generative bone of Genesis 2:21–23. American Journal of Medical Genetics 101(3): 284–285.
  • Clellan S. And Frank A. Beach 1951 Patterns of Sexual Behavior Publisher: N.Y., Harper, and Paul B. Hoeber, Inc. Medical Books (ISBN 0313223556)

External links

Bones are rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals.
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For the symbol of the erect penis, see phallus.
The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external sexual organ of certain biologically male organisms.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Equidae
Gray, 1821

Genus: Equus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

E. asinus - Donkey
E. africanus - African Wild Ass
E. caballus - Domestic Horse
E.
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Marsupialia
Illiger, 1811

Orders
  • Didelphimorphia
  • Paucituberculata
  • Microbiotheria
  • Dasyuromorphia
  • Peramelemorphia
  • Notoryctemorphia
  • Diprotodontia
  • Sparassodonta (extinct)
  • Yalkaparidontia (extinct)
Marsupials
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Lagomorpha
Brandt, 1855

Families

Leporidae
Ochotonidae
Prolagidae (extinct)
The Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha, are an order of mammals of which there are two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas).
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Hyaenidae
Gray, 1821

Subfamilies and Genera
  • Hyaeninae
  • Crocuta
  • Hyaena
  • Parahyaena

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Sexual intercourse or copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals.[1] The two entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails.
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone or os penis) is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans, equids, marsupials, lagomorphs, and hyenas, amongst others. It is used for copulation and varies in size and shape by species.
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The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone or os penis) is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans, equids, marsupials, lagomorphs, and hyenas, amongst others. It is used for copulation and varies in size and shape by species.
..... Click the link for more information.
Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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In evolutionary biology, homology is any similarity between characters that is due to their shared ancestry. There are examples in different branches of biology. Anatomical structures that perform the same function in different biological species and evolved from the same structure
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erection of the penis, clitoris or a nipple is its enlarged and firm state. It depends on a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular and endocrine factors. The term is also applied to the process that leads to this state.
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Corpus cavernosum can refer to:
  • corpus cavernosum clitoridis
  • corpus cavernosum penis
Though not used today, the term "corpus cavernosum urethrae" was used for corpus spongiosum in older texts.
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Primates
Linnaeus, 1758

Families
  • 15, See classification
A primate is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all the species commonly related to the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the last category
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Canidae
G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817

Genera
  • Alopex
  • Atelocynus
  • Canis
  • Cerdocyon
  • Chrysocyon
  • Cuon
  • Cynotherium †
  • Dusicyon †
  • Dasycyon

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Felidae
G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817

Subfamilies

Felinae
Pantherinae
†Machairodontinae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid.
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wild rats. For pet rats, see Fancy rat. For other uses, see Rat (disambiguation).

Rats
Fossil range: Early Pleistocene – Recent

Black Rat (Rattus rattus)


Scientific classification
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Odobenidae
Allen, 1880

Genus: Odobenus
Brisson, 1762

Species: O.
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P. lotor

Binomial name
Procyon lotor
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Raccoon native range in red, feral range in blue.

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Charm or charms may refer to:

In paranormal magic:
  • Lucky charms such as amulets, touch pieces and painted pebbles
  • Charm bracelet, an item of jewelry worn around the wrist that carries personal charms

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Jeremiah "Terminator" LeRoy was a pen name of American writer Laura Albert. The name was used from 1996 on for publication in magazines such as Nerve[1]. After the publication of LeRoy's first novel, Sarah, LeRoy started making public appearances.
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Sarah

Author JT LeRoy
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Bloomsbury
Publication date 2001
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 166 pp (paperback edition)
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William Gibson

William Gibson in August 2007
Born: March 17 1948 (1948--) (age 59)
Conway, South Carolina
Occupation: novelist
Writing period: 1977 ?
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Count Zero

Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author William F. Gibson
Country United States
Language English
Series the Sprawl trilogy
Genre(s) Science fiction novel
Publisher Victor Gollancz Ltd
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Alaska

Flag of Alaska Seal
Nickname(s): The Last Frontier
Motto(s): "North to the Future"

Official language(s) None[1]
Spoken language(s) English 85.7%,
Native North American 5.
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For the symbol of the erect penis, see phallus.
The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external sexual organ of certain biologically male organisms.
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Odobenidae
Allen, 1880

Genus: Odobenus
Brisson, 1762

Species: O.
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