corpus spongiosum

a column of tissue on the inferior (lower) side of the body of the penis that surrounds the urethra and extends into the glans penis. Above it lie the two columns of the corpora cavernosa (see corpus cavernosum). The three columns, which are bound together by connective tissue, make up the erectile tissue of the penis. However, the corpus spongiosum does not become as erect as the corpora cavernosa during an erection. Also called corpus cavernosum urethrae.

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Psychology term of the day

December 25th 2024

actor–observer effect

in attribution theory, the tendency for individuals acting in a situation to attribute the causes of their behavior to external or situational factors, such as social pressure, but for observers to attribute the same behavior to internal or dispositional factors, such as personality. See fundamental attribution error. See also dispositional attribution; situational attribution. [introduced in 1971 by U.S. psychologists Edward E. Jones (1926–1993) and Richard E. Nisbett (1941– )]