Fournier gangrene is a type of necrotizing fasciitis or gangrene affecting the external genitalia or perineum. It commonly occurs in older men, but itcan also occur in women and children. It is more likely to occur in diabetics, alcoholics, or those who are immunocompromised. About one per 62,500 males are affected per year. Males are affected about 40 times more often than females. It was first described by Baurienne in 1764 and is named after a French venereologist, Jean Alfred Fournier, following five cases he presented in clinical lectures in 1883.