The line you see is called the penile raphe (REY-fee), and it is a normal part of all penises. It is where the two sides of the urogenital folds grow together to enclose the urethra, when the penis is developing in utero. It can be kind of wavy or off center, and can be raised. It can get irritated sometimes and look redder.

NORMAL!

Gillian

 

That's the raffe line, it's the seam where the penis closed during gestation. Diaper rash can make it more noticeable.

It's a normal part of human anatomy, so there is no need to bring it up with the ped. However, if you want to see if your ped has a basic understanding of intact anatomy, go ahead and see if s/he knows what it is.

ETA: Gillian happens to type faster, spell better, and use more technical terms than I do (that's b.c she's a nurse,) so I deffer to her post.

 

There is a line that runs from the the rectum, across the perineum (sp?), across the middle of the scrotum and up the underside of the penis. It is called the raphe. See this link at Wiki. Note, it does have an actual photograph of an adult male penis. http://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphe_penis

Sometimes if there is any irritation, it will get particularliy red as compared to the skin next to it. This reddness has happened in my son but has only lasted a brief while and subsides with the application of diaper cream. (I love the Weleda zinc oxide cream.)

 

You two are both faster than me! Hee Hee

Do I get extra credit for the photo link?

 

You are all awesome! Thank you!

 

We are here to help (and we even have fun doing it)! You are very welcome.

 

THis is totally normal, as others have said.

When my son's raffe line gets a little red it is usually just irritated from diapers or from the heat. I put a little burts bees diaper ointment on it.

 

Maybe this is sort of a stupid question, but is the raphe not supposed to look reddish and raised? Or is it supposed to be reddish and raised, but not TOO reddish and raised? How do you know the difference?

I'm asking because the only place that DS ever looks a little irritated is on the underside of his penis, mostly at the base, and on the part of the scrotum that his penis normally covers. I can't honestly tell if the raphe is involved or not because it always looks a bit puffy and red. I figured maybe that was just normal.

These are also the only places I've ever seen anything that looks like smegma. I try to wipe it off at diaper changes, but it's a tough place to "air out" without causing him to pee in his own face.

 

I think it's normal to have this line be reddish, or more so than the surrounding skin.

It looks raised a bit on my son and I believe this is normal.

As for the smegma looking stuff, I think you are probably seeing just skin cells. If I skip a few days in bathing my little one, or don't wipe him well, I have seen some little whitish tiny balls appear when I the space where his penis rests on the scrotum. This is just sloughing skin cells I believe. My boy is very pale skinned and I don't wash in soap/water daily but I do wipe him down with water and cotton wipes at most diaper changes. I hope this helps.