How does male circumcision protect against HIV infection?

Abstract

Methods To compile the information for this review a Medline search was done using the terms circumcision, HIV, Langerhans' cells, penis, foreskin, and prepuce, and extensive email correspondence with other researchers was also undertaken. Histological observations were carried out on samples of penile tissue obtained from 13 perfusion fixed cadavers of men aged 60-96 years, seven of whom had been circumcised. Acknowledgments We thank Professor John Mills for helpful comments on an early draft of the manuscript and Professor Daine Alcorn and the staff of the Department of Anatomy, University of Melbourne, for supplying and processing the specimens from human cadavers. Contributors: RS reviewed all the relevant literature, carried out the histological examination of the specimens, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. RVS initiated the study and participated in redrafting of the paper. Both authors will act as guarantors.