If you have testicles, you’ve probably noticed that there is a line that runs down the middle of your scrotum.
If you didn’t know, you do now. You’re welcome.
First, know that this is very normal and absolutely nothing to worry about.
While there are theories ranging from Eve in the Bible being made not from Adam’s rib but instead his penis bone to the line simply being a remnant of the penis bone.
Yes really.
However, it is far more simple than either of those explanations and nobody had to sacrifice their penis bones for this to occur.
So, it is actually called a perineal raphe, and it forms when foetuses are around 7 weeks old in the womb.
IFLScience explained: “Before seven weeks of the mother’s pregnancy, male and female foetuses look fairly similar in the genital area, each with a urogenital tubercle, urogenital swellings, and urogenital folds.
“After around seven weeks, the testicles in male foetuses that are progressing typically will produce testosterone.”
This testosterone causes the urogenital swellings to swell, come together in the middle and fuse. This forms the scrotum and the underside of the penis, according to the Intersex Society of North America.
The society added: “The line down the middle, called a ‘raphe’, is just a reminder of how all humans start out with a common female genital anatomy until 7 weeks after conception.”
IFL Science added: “The line is known as a penile raphe where it appears on the penis, and a scrotal raphe where it appears on the scrotum.
“The raphe is also present in females, extending from the anus to the labia majora, from the development of their genitals in the womb at around the same time.”
Basically, this line or ‘stitch’ is from when your genitals were just figuring themselves out in the womb and the line is nothing more than a reminder of how we were once just floating foetuses in the womb, not a care in the world.
What a gorgeous time that must have been.
