Clitoral anatomy was actually well studied and illustrated in detail in 1844. The problem is it has repeatedly been forgotten and rediscovered. Modern detailed studies have been done since 2005. The problem is dissemination and clinical knowledge.

Lepidi and Di Marino’s Anatomic Study of the Clitoris, published in 2014, is extremely detailed. It has barely been cited. Also, some general anatomy textbooks (Netter, Grant) do contain rudimentary coverage of clitoral neurovascular anatomy. The problem is it mostly disappears by the time you get to GYN literature. It is absent from GYN surgery literature and from literature on female sexual function. It is only shown once in an OB/GYN journal. This one case is in a low impact journal and the author absurdly claims the glans is 1–2 cm long.

The problem appears to be a lack of interest and a lack of understanding of why it is important. Many who may have learned it in first year med school anatomy may forget it later. There is simply no reason for practicing GYNs to know it when it isn’t in their journals and is not in their board exams or MOC exams. Many do not know enough to know what they don’t know. Based on the prevalence of anatomically incorrect descriptions and illustrations of the clitoris in the literature, ignorance is pervasive. You also see some OB/GYNs publishing that the labia minora play no role in sexual function.