Male circumcision refers to the surgical removal of the foreskin, which is the skin covering the tip of the penis. It is often done for cultural, religious, or health reasons. Full definition
Efforts to increase the practice of male circumcision in areas with high rates of sexually transmitted infections, including Africa, could have a tremendous benefit, say the study's authors. (health.com)
The last decades of the 20th century saw enormous efforts made by concerned parents and professionals (nurses, physicians, attorneys, therapists) to stop routine newborn male circumcision in the U.S. Today there is a large and active grass roots movement to educate parents and professionals and to require fully informed consent of the parents or guardians before this serious surgery can be performed. (birthingthefuture.com)
The HIV prevention strategy whose impact was observed in the study is based on earlier findings by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and others demonstrating the protective effect of voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV - uninfected men and of HIV - suppressing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for halting sexual transmission of the virus to uninfected partners. (sciencedaily.com)