Circumcision: a surgeon’s perspective

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Abstract
Circumcision has a long history in ancient societies of the Middle East, and is likely to have arisen as an early public health measure for preventing recurrent balanitis, caused by sand accumulating under the foreskin. Circumcision is a major part of the ritual for such religions as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and it is probably no accident that all of these arose in the Middle East. By contrast, in religions arising outside the arid Middle East (Hinduism, Shintoism, Buddhism), there is no ritual circumcision. In aboriginal society in Australia, circumcision is practised also.