How thoroughly does the doctor examine your penis during a physical exam?

My last examination took place in the summer of 2025. The doctor palpated the shaft of my penis with two fingers, retracted my foreskin, examined the frenulum and glans, and pressed on them to see my urethra. Afterwards, he retracted the foreskin, placed my penis on my stomach, and performed an ultrasound examination of the penis shaft.

Your doctor asks about you about having (sex) partners?

The first time I saw my current doctor (11 years ago), she asked if I was sexually active. "No, I'm married," I replied. She chuckled and never asked again. She has never examined my penis.

Not really at all...

Does not at all

I've been seeing the same dr for 6 years for my diabetes. She's never checked it during my yearly physical or my yearly Dot physical

My PCP never examined my penis. He only does BP temp listens to heart and lungs etc. Possibly if he had been more thorough he would have spotted my Penile cancer before I did. Who knows, too late to worry about it now.

When I was a kid the doctor would feel along the length of my penis, spread the tip to look at the urethral opening and examine the area behind the glans.

Many visual inspections of the shaft and meatus. My penis may be been palpated once or twice. When I was a preteen the doctor did not think my meatus was large enough and wanted me to pee in front of him to see the stream. I couldn't do it - back in the 70s if a doctor wanted a urine sample you collected it at home and brought it with you. My parents always had me empty my bladder and bowels before a physical and then wash real well so that I would be clean. Doctor was kind of angry that he couldn't observe my stream, but whichever parent was with me insisted I did not have any trouble at home. That was the only time that issue came up.

As an adult I have been to the urologist, but for a varicocele, so he paid little attention to it - in fact, I often had to hold it up and out of the way.

Not at all, don't even have to remove any clothes anymore.🙄

As an adult, fairly minimally if at all. It was much more in childhood through college.

Pretty thoroughly… I think because I am uncircumcised. He rolls the foreskin back, pinches the slit open and then does a visual inspection of the shaft. He also checks my balls, but it seems these days they get less attention than my penis.

I think post puberty I dont remember a doc ever telling me to "drop them". Unless ive requested they take a look at a mole or something like that. I dont even get a hernia check at my annual physical. I guess this is because most labs can detect serious issues better than a physical exam? Im not sure.

"it's been 85 years..."

or so it seems.

Barely, if at all.

A GP won't include it in a physical exam here, unless you clearly point out there's a problem you need to have looked at.

Though I've never had a scheduled physical exam since my childhood.

Didn't happen to me. It's kind of unpredictable and depends on your doctor. When they do it's simply a quick foreskin retraction and that's it. They usually pay more attention to the testicles.

Yes he does feels the shaft and retracts the foreskin and looks in the meatus with the penlight to look down for redness etc

I have had two VERY thorough penis examinations, including visual inspection and palpation, one as a boy that resulted in my being circumcised, and another as a newly come of age adult, at which the doctor eventually pronounced my penis "satisfactory" after the scrutiny he had given the remnant of frenulum remaining

I’ve had both male and female pcps and urologists and it has never happened to me.

When I was younger it seemed like the pediatrician I had spent more time than other doctors during a yearly physical.

The first physical was the same as what happened at a checkup, except this time instead of clothes on, i had a gown but my pediatrician still pulled my briefs down and retracted my foreskin. Once I hit Tanner stage two, he pulled my briefs down to my mid thighs and spent more time examining the shaft, retracting the foreskin and pinching the glands to make the Urethral Meatus open up. Once I hit tanner stage 3 he examined my penis twice, once while supine on the exam table and then repeated the same tasks while I stood in front of him. Once I hit tanner stage 4 it was just standing in front of him. I switched doctors before turning 18, the next doctor wore gloves and retracted the foreskin. Once I turned 18 and went to a GP i was the one responsible for retracting the foreskin.

Not at all in my experience!