Medical term for penis

Students don’t always know the proper terms for body parts. Families use their own names like po-po, nyeh nyeh, wadoo, lucky, goodie, peach and the like in reference to certain areas or organs. In order to be on the same page during class I encourage the use of proper terms, or as the students call them, medical terms.

A few years ago in a coed 6th grade sex ed class we were in the thick of a discussion about periods, tampons and pads. Five girls had their hands in the air.
I was thrilled to see a boy had his hand up. I called on him and he said, “When we get to the male anatomy, I know the medical term for penis.”
I responded, “Great. Let’s get through these questions then you can start us off.”

I was absolutely intrigued. What did he have in mind? What was he going to say? What could possibly be a medical term for penis, except penis?

We finished up and I called on him, “OK, male anatomy, start us off.

He boldly stated, “The medical term for penis is rectum.”

No one laughed. No one said a thing. They just looked to me for confirmation.

So with eyebrows raised I said, “I am so glad you said that. Rectum actually refers to the last part of the bowels. It carries solid waste – poop. The rectum holds poop before the anus releases it. The rectum is in the back (point point) the penis in the front (point point). The medical term for penis is penis.”

Whew.