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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.
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.
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.
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.
This means that in the event of a rival male's sperm occupying the reproductive tract of a female, the human penis is able to displace the rival sperm, replacing it with his own. [42] Semen displacement has two main benefits for a male. Firstly, by displacing a rival male's sperm, the risk of the rival sperm fertilising the egg is reduced. [43]
The function of the corpus spongiosum in erection is to prevent the urethra from pinching closed, thereby maintaining the urethra as a viable channel for ejaculation. To do this, the corpus spongiosum remains pliable during erection while the corpora cavernosa penis become engorged with blood.
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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.