Some measure of the degree in which the glans penis is shielded from external irritating agencies is afforded by the sensations of the adult for the first time deprived of this appendage; or in whom the latter is kept retracted for any length of time, contrary to preceding habit. Extreme discomfort, indeed considerable soreness and actual pain, are complained of; until tolerance becomes established, and until the delicate membrane has by exposure and friction become so hardened that the absence of its former covering is no longer noticed, a period occupying commonly several weeks.[9] In the case of young children, the unpleasant sensations involved must be relatively far greater; considering their physical helplessness and their more impressionable nervous system. According, moreover, to the authority previously cited, early removal of the prepuce is apt to be followed by _progressive sclerosis_, with attendant evils of _contracted meatus_, _balanitis_, &c. And, failing this, 'the exposure of the tender skin to the friction of the clothing, &c. tends to keep up a state of abnormal excitement during the early years of life.' It thus becomes apparent that, apart from any risks involved by operative procedures, ablation of the prepuce, whether in infant or in adult, is not a measure to be undertaken lightly, or without satisfactory evidence of positive necessity. FOOTNOTE: [9] The fact that many adults, of not too sensitive organisation, gradually acquire a habit of retaining the foreskin partially or even entirely retracted, is of course not lost sight of. But this in no way affects the question of its _sudden_ removal, or of the protection afforded by the structure in question to infants of tender years. III DANGERS AND RESULTS OF CONGENITAL PHIMOSIS--ACQUIRED PHIMOSIS. A perfectly healthy condition of the male generative organs is compatible only with perfect mobility of the prepuce over the gland which it envelopes. So, in the absence of this, we encounter a number of ill consequences, some local only; some affecting the well-being, and even the life, of the entire organism.