Scientists Found Microplastics in Human Penile Tissue

Microplastics have shown up in some surprisingly unexpected places. They’re abundant in our waterways, in our fish, in sodas, and even in glass water bottles. They’ve also been detected floating in various parts of the human body, including the liver, brain, and even within the arterial plaque of patients with cardiovascular disease. However, there’s another location where microplastics have been found that might be the most intriguing of all: the human penis. 

In a small but controlled study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research, scientists from the University of Miami explained how they collected small pieces of erectile tissue from six adult men before they underwent penile implant surgery, prior to implanting the device. 

The team then placed the tissue in glass storage containers, using metal or glass tools to limit any plastic cross-contamination. (They kept one piece in a plastic container as a control group.) They then processed the tissue and used laser direct infrared imaging to scan for microplastic particles 20–500 micrometers wide (approximately the width of a human hair) and matched them to plastic “fingerprint” libraries, counting only those with a very high-confidence match. 

The researchers found seven types of plastic in the tissue of four out of five samples (one patient had none), with PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the plastic used for items like soda bottles and food packaging, and polypropylene, commonly found in food containers, dominating the bunch. In fact, together, they accounted for approximately 82% of the particles the researchers identified. The last sample, which was stored in plastic, also contained microplastics (notably PMMA, a shatter-resistant plastic often used in place of windows), demonstrating once again how easily plastic contamination can happen.

This isn’t the only study to detect microplastics in penile tissue. In 2025, researchers examined human penile cancer tissue from 17 patients and discovered nine types of microplastics in 85.3% of the samples. The most prevalent kinds were polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride. The researchers observed that “the abundance and variety of microplastics in cancerous tissue are significantly higher than in adjacent normal tissue, although they had similar size distributions.”

The researchers also noted that their findings suggest that “humans are inadvertently exposed to microplastics through various pathways, with dietary intake being a particularly significant route.” They pointed to seafood, salt, and beverages, “such as beer and tea,” which are notably high in microplastics.

What’s important to note is that neither of these studies examined the potential health effects of these microplastic particles, including the risk of erectile dysfunction or cancer. Both studies aimed to simply document their presence.

That said, there is growing research on the potential effects of microplastics on human health. As Food & Wine reported in July, a recent study showed that ingesting polystyrene nanoplastics can cause liver damage in mice. In September, we also shared another new study, which found that low-density polyethylene microplastics can impair the blood-brain barrier in rats, reduce their antioxidant defenses, and potentially damage proteins essential for learning and memory.

For now, the researchers want everyone to understand that microplastics have indeed made it just about everywhere. “By shedding light on the presence of microplastics in human tissues, our research adds a crucial dimension to the ongoing discourse about the effects of environmental pollutants on human health, with a specific focus on male sexual health,” they added in their conclusion.

What you do with this information is up to you. However, you can reduce your exposure to microplastics by adopting the researchers’ approach with their tools, choosing glass or stainless steel whenever possible, and making these key kitchen swaps.