The clitoris is a sexual organ located at the top of the vulva, and its primary purpose is pleasure. What most people think of as “the clit” is just a small visible tip, but the full structure extends several centimeters inside the body, surrounding the vaginal canal and urethra with erectile tissue. It contains over 10,000 nerve fibers, making it the most nerve-dense structure in the human body relative to its size.
Where It Is and What You Can See
The visible part of the clitoris, called the glans, sits at the top of the vulva where the inner labia meet. It’s small, typically about 5 millimeters long and 3 to 4 millimeters wide, though this varies from person to person. A fold of skin called the clitoral hood partially or fully covers the glans, similar to how the foreskin covers the head of the penis. The hood protects the glans from constant friction against clothing, which matters because the tissue is extremely sensitive.
Most of the Clitoris Is Internal
The glans is just the surface. Beneath it, a shaft (called the body) extends inward and then splits into two legs, known as crura, that stretch along either side of the vaginal canal. These legs are the longest parts of the entire structure. The whole thing is shaped roughly like a wishbone, with the glans at the top and the two legs forming a V that can extend 3 to 6 centimeters from the pelvic bone.
There are also two bulbs of erectile tissue that sit on either side of the vaginal opening, closely connected to the rest of the clitoral structure. For a long time, anatomy textbooks described these bulbs as separate from the clitoris, but detailed anatomical research by Australian urologist Helen O’Connell showed they are directly related to the other clitoral components. Her work in the late 1990s demonstrated that the clitoris is far more extensive than medical diagrams had shown for decades, and she recommended renaming these structures the “bulbs of the clitoris” to reflect their true connection.
How It Responds During Arousal
The internal clitoris is made of erectile tissue, the same type of tissue found in the penis. During sexual arousal, blood flow to this tissue increases, causing the entire structure to swell and stiffen. The glans pushes outward slightly and becomes more sensitive to touch. The internal bulbs also engorge, which increases sensation around the vaginal opening. This process mirrors what happens during an erection in a penis, which makes sense: the clitoris and penis develop from the same tissue in the embryo and share the same internal structure of erectile chambers.
This engorgement isn’t just about the visible tip. Because the crura and bulbs surround the vaginal canal, arousal changes sensation throughout the area, not only at the surface.
Its Role in Orgasm
The clitoris is the primary source of orgasm for most women. In a study of 749 women, 94% reported that clitoral stimulation could lead to orgasm. In a smaller laboratory study where 26 women were asked to masturbate, every single one used clitoral stimulation as the primary method to reach orgasm.
About 70% of women in the larger study also reported that deep vaginal stimulation could produce orgasm, but this likely still involves the clitoris indirectly. Because the internal legs and bulbs wrap around the vaginal canal, pressure against the vaginal walls can stimulate clitoral tissue from the inside. The longstanding idea of “clitoral vs. vaginal” orgasms as completely separate phenomena doesn’t hold up well once you understand how much internal clitoral tissue surrounds the vagina.
Why It Has So Many Nerve Endings
A 2022 study from Oregon Health & Science University counted the nerve fibers in the main nerve supplying the clitoris and found an average of about 10,281 fibers. That count only includes the dorsal nerve, which is the primary one. The clitoris has additional smaller nerves, so the true total is higher. This concentration of nerve fibers in such a small area is what makes even light touch on the glans intensely pleasurable, and for some people, uncomfortably intense without indirect or gradual stimulation.
Normal Variation in Size and Appearance
The visible glans ranges considerably in size. Some are barely visible beneath the hood, while others are more prominent. One study of 200 premenopausal women measured the glans at an average of about 5 millimeters long and 3.4 millimeters wide, but individual measurements varied by several millimeters in each direction. Hormonal differences also affect size: people with higher androgen levels, whether naturally or through hormone therapy, tend to have a larger glans. The total length of the clitoris including the internal shaft averages around 16 millimeters, though again with wide variation.
The clitoral hood also varies. Some hoods fully cover the glans, others only partially cover it, and some retract more during arousal than others. None of these variations affect function or indicate a problem. Sensitivity levels also differ from person to person, which is why preferences for direct versus indirect stimulation vary so widely.