Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Erectile tissue is tissue in the body with numerous vascular spaces, or cavernous tissue, that may become engorged with blood. [1] [2] However, tissue that is devoid of or otherwise lacking erectile tissue (such as the labia minora, vestibule, vagina and urethra) may also be described as engorging with blood, often with regard to sexual arousal.
Blood can leave the erectile tissue only through a drainage system of veins around the outside wall of the corpus cavernosum. The expanding spongy tissue presses against a surrounding dense tissue (tunica albuginea) constricting these veins, preventing blood from leaving. The penis becomes rigid as a result.
An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, and endocrine factors, and is often associated with sexual arousal, sexual attraction or libido, although erections can also be spontaneous.
The primary physiological mechanism that brings about erection is the autonomic dilation of arteries supplying blood to the penis, which allows more blood to fill the three spongy erectile tissue chambers in the penis, the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum, causing it to lengthen and stiffen.
When a male becomes sexually aroused, erection occurs because sinuses within the erectile tissues of the penis (corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum) become filled with blood. The arteries of the penis are dilated while the veins are compressed so that blood flows into the erectile cartilage under pressure.
In human male anatomy, the radix (/ r eɪ. d ɪ k s /) [1] or root of the penis is the internal and most proximal portion of the human penis that lies in the perineum.Unlike the pendulous body of the penis, which is suspended from the pubic symphysis, the root is attached to the pubic arch of the pelvis and is not visible externally.
Research indicates that the vestibular bulbs are more closely related to the clitoris than to the vestibule because of the similarity of the trabecular and erectile tissue within the clitoris and bulbs, and the absence of trabecular tissue in other genital organs, with the erectile tissue's trabecular nature allowing engorgement and expansion during sexual arousal. [1]
Examples of topics include the biomechanical study of the strength of vaginal tissues [1] and the biomechanics of male erectile function. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The mechanics of sex under limit circumstances, such as sexual activity at zero-gravity in outer space , are also being studied.