Human Sexual Response Flashcards
4 stages of sexual response
- Excitement- arousal (psychogenic or somatogenic)
- Plateau- further arousal to the point of orgasm
- Orgasm- rapid release of sexual tension
- Resolution- dissipation of arousal/ return to unstimulated state
Make excitement
Initiated by erotic stimulus- initiated an erection reflex (parasympathetic nervous system), testes partially elevate
Male plateau
- prostate enlarged, Cowper’s gland secretes mucous, gland changes colour
- testes fully elevated, size increases, scrotum thickens
Male organismic
- shortest phase (15-30s)
- ejaculation
- heart rate, blood pressure, respiration increases
- ejaculation divided into two parts: emission and expulsion
Male Resolution
Refractory period: minutes to hours- a period of time where the male cannot be stimulated to stratum an erect job or have an orgasm, until return to near resting levels of stimulation. Length of time increases with age. Not present in the female.
Resolution: reversal of the initial responses, varies in time for each parameter, mostly occurs within 5 minutes, complete resolution can take up to 2 hours. Loss of erection, return to venous flow/ decrease of arterial flow
Female excitement
- initiated by erotic stimulus
- engorgement with blood (clitoris, labia minora, labia majora
- lubrication via transduction from blood vessels
Female plateau
- colour changes in external structures
- uterus elevated to a mid position
- tenting occurs after arousal- vagina expands to make a larger/ longer canal to enable penis to enter fully
- orgasm platform forms, in which the first 1/3 of vagina constricts
Female organismic
- rhythm contractions (3-15) of vagina, and anal sphincter
- first contractions are most intense and furthest apart (2-4s) then processed in about 0.8s intervals
Female resolution
- going back to the pre-excitement phase.
- vagina returns to normal
- organismic platform disappears
- could be a seminal pool
- uterus lowers to original position
