The visible part of the clitoris looks like a small, rounded nub of flesh, roughly the size of a pea, located at the top of the vulva where the inner lips meet. But that tiny external portion is only a fraction of the full structure, most of which sits hidden beneath the skin.
What You Can See From the Outside
The part you can see is called the glans. It sits at the very top of the vulva, above the urethral opening and well above the vaginal entrance. The inner lips (labia minora) come together at the top to form a small fold of skin called the clitoral hood, which drapes over the glans like a tiny protective cover. Depending on the person, this hood may cover all, some, or none of the glans.
When the hood is gently pulled back, the glans appears as a small, smooth, button-like bump. Its color generally matches the surrounding skin of the vulva, though it can range from pink to darker shades of brown. The texture is smooth and the shape is rounded, though no two look exactly alike. Variations in size, shape, and how much the glans protrudes are completely normal and well documented in anatomical research.
To find it on your own body, you can use a mirror. Look at the top of the vulva where the inner lips converge. You may need to gently separate the lips or retract the hood to see the glans clearly, especially if your hood provides more coverage.
The Much Larger Internal Structure
What most people think of as “the clitoris” is just the tip. The full clitoral structure extends several inches inside the body, wrapping around both the urethra and vagina and embedding into surrounding tissue and muscle. If you could see the whole thing, it would look something like a wishbone or an upside-down Y shape.
Below the visible glans is a shaft (the body of the clitoris) that runs back under the skin. From there, two leg-like extensions called crura branch out and anchor to the pelvic bone on either side. There are also two bulb-shaped structures made of spongy tissue that flank the vaginal canal. These bulbs have a slightly different appearance from the rest of the clitoris at a tissue level. The shaft and crura are pink, made of dense erectile tissue surrounded by a tough outer layer, while the bulbs lack that outer layer and appear more purple due to their larger blood spaces.
Research led by urologist Helen O’Connell in the late 1990s and early 2000s revealed that previous anatomical descriptions had significantly underrepresented the clitoris. Her dissection work showed that the clitoris, urethra, and vagina are anatomically connected in ways that had not been recognized before, reshaping how scientists understand the structure.
Why It’s So Sensitive
The glans is packed with nerve fibers, which is why even light touch can produce intense sensation. A 2022 study from Oregon Health & Science University counted the nerve fibers in the clitoral dorsal nerve and estimated more than 10,000 nerve fibers in total, a higher number than previous estimates. And because the dorsal nerve isn’t the only nerve serving the clitoris, the actual total is even higher. That concentration of nerve endings in such a small area makes the glans one of the most sensitive spots on the human body.
How It Changes During Arousal
The clitoris doesn’t look the same all the time. During sexual arousal, blood flows into the erectile tissue throughout the entire structure, both the visible glans and the internal components. In the early stages of arousal, the inner and outer lips spread apart, making the clitoris more visible, and the glans increases in size as it becomes engorged with blood.
As arousal continues, something counterintuitive happens: the swollen glans actually retracts further beneath its hood, becoming harder to see even though it’s larger. At the peak of arousal, the glans is at maximum engorgement but is mostly tucked away under the hood. After orgasm or when arousal subsides, everything gradually returns to its resting size, position, and color.
Normal Variations in Appearance
There is no single “normal” way for a clitoris to look. The glans can be larger or smaller than a pea. Some are more prominent and easy to spot without retracting the hood, while others are almost entirely covered. The hood itself varies too: some are thin and barely there, others are thicker or longer. Color ranges widely based on overall skin tone and individual variation.
These differences are purely anatomical variety, the same way noses or earlobes come in different shapes. Size and visibility don’t correlate with sensitivity or sexual function. If you’ve looked at your own anatomy and it doesn’t match what you expected, that’s almost certainly just your normal variation.