Female ejaculation

Female ejaculation (also known colloquially as squirting or gushing) refers to the expulsion of noticeable amounts of clear fluid by human females from the paraurethral ducts and/or urethra during orgasm. The exact source of the fluid is debated, although some researchers believe it originates from the Skene's gland.

For most of the last century, there was controversy over whether the effect existed at all, and in recent history there has been confusion between female ejaculation and urinary incontinence. However, scientific studies from the 1980s and later have demonstrated an effect that is unrelated to urine.^[1]

According to some, female ejaculation is mostly accomplished by stimulation of the urethral sponge (or G-spot, named after Dr. Ernst Gräfenberg), an area purported to be near the front of the vaginal wall.^[2][3] More rarely, ejaculation can be accomplished through external stimulation of the clitoris alone, the internal tissue of the clitoris then contracting and stimulating the urethral tissue.^{[citation needed]}

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Historical and scientific discussion

Female ejaculation has been discussed in anatomical, medical, and biological literature since classical antiquity. The Greek philosopher Aristotle noted the existence of female ejaculation,^[4] and the Roman physician Galen (2nd century) described the female prostate. The Italian Renaissance anatomist Renaldus Columbus referred to female ejaculate in his explanation of the function of the clitoris. In the 17th century, the Dutch anatomist Regnier de Graaf wrote a book about female anatomy and spoke of female fluid "rushing out" and "coming in one gush" during sexual excitement.^[5]   Up until the 1980s female ejaculation was largely ignored by the medical community. At that time the subject resurfaced with the bestselling book The G-Spot by Ladas, Whipple, and Perry. The book not only addressed the validity of the G-spot, but it also brought female ejaculation to the forefront of women's sexual health inside the medical community.

While many in the medical and scientific communities are now acknowledging the existence of female ejaculation, there remains a large void when it comes to solid scientific data explaining the process of ejaculation in females or the source of the fluid itself. Studies have been done by Beverly Whipple, John Perry, Gary Schuback, Milan Zaviacic and Cabello Santamaria but their findings are limited. While current information offers no solid information about the source of the fluid, chemical analysis performed on the fluid has revealed that while it sometimes contains at least traces of urine, it regularly contains chemical markers unique to the prostate (whether male or female).^[1]

The latest research indicates the possibility that all women produce female ejaculate, even if they are not aware of it. The expelled or released fluid is not urine, it is an alkaline liquid secreted by the paraurethral glands. The paraurethral glands produce an enzyme called prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), along with prostate-specific antigen (PSA).^{[6][7][8][9][10]} Skene's gland also produces Human Protein 1, a trait formerly believed to be unique to the male prostate.^[11] Studies have found that 54-60% of women have experienced emission of fluid at orgasm, with 6% reporting that they regularly ejaculate in a forceful manner, and an additional 13% stating that they have done so infrequently.^[12][1] Dr. Shubach believes that "most women, the overwhelming proportion of women" are capable of ejaculation.^[13] It must also be noted that female ejaculation has long been reported in Ancient Indian and Chinese history. The Sanskrit word for female ejaculate is "Amrita" meaning divine nectar that supposedly had medicinal properties. The esoteric Buddhist sect of Tantra was particularly focused on this physical function in their ritualistic, sexual practice.

Research

There have been a number of studies carried out on the fluid expelled during female ejaculation to determine the chemical makeup. Through chemical analysis the expelled fluid has been found to contain the following:

• glucose (a natural sugar) and fructose (another natural sugar, also found in the prostatic fluid of semen)
• prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein in male ejaculate produced by the prostate gland, and in females, believed to be generated by Skene's glands
• very low levels of creatinine and urea (the two primary chemical markers of urine, found in high levels in pre- and post-ejaculatory urinalysis).^[14]

In 1988, Milan Zaviacic, M.D., Ph.D., head of the Institute of Pathology, Comenius University Bratislava, published a study of five women who were patients at a fertility department of a hospital of gynecology and obstetrics. Total samples from one of the participants and one of four samples from a second participant were collected in the laboratory. The rest were collected at the homes of the women and transported to the laboratory in ice. In four of the five cases, the samples were analyzed within three hours of collection, with the fifth subject’s specimens analyzed three months after collection. The results in all five cases showed a higher concentration of fructose in the ejaculate sample than in the urine sample.^[15]

In 1997 Dr. F Cabello Santamaria analyzed urine for PSA using Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay and found that 75 percent of the samples showed a concentration of PSA in post-orgasmic urine samples which was not present in pre-orgasmic urine samples. The fluid collected at the point of orgasm (distinct from the urine samples) showed the presence of PSA in 100 percent of samples.^[16]

In 2002, Emanuele Jannini of L'Aquila University in Italy offered one explanation for this phenomenon, as well as for the frequent denials of its existence:

Skene's gland openings are usually the size of pinholes, and vary in size from one woman to another, to the point where they appear to be missing entirely in some women. If Skene's glands are the cause of female ejaculation, this may explain the observed absence of this phenomenon in many women.

The "female prostate" and female ejaculation

Women do not have an exact equivalent of the male prostate gland, an essential part of the male reproductive system. They do, however, have structures which are homologous to the male prostate, meaning that they have developed from the same embryonic tissue. (The testicles of the male and the ovaries of the female are also homologous.) These are called para-urethral glands or Skene's glands – although the term "Skene's glands" is often reserved for the two para-urethral glands closest to the opening of the urethra. They are there because, for the first weeks in development, the male and female embryo are not yet differentiated.

The relative size and structure of the para-urethral glands varies considerably from woman to woman. The fluid produced is similar to that produced by the male prostate and, as in the male, passes into the urethra – and in some cases may pass into the vagina. The glands fill with fluid during sexual arousal and may be felt through the vaginal wall. The swelling of the tissue surrounding the urethra may be a combination of the glands filling with fluid and of the swelling of the woman’s erectile tissue, the corpus cavernosum, which in the male, produces erections. Swelling of the non-visible part of the clitoris will also be evident.

It is, it seems, the rhythmic contractions of pelvic muscle during orgasm which expel the accumulated fluid as at least one constituent of female ejaculation. The amount of fluid released can be considerable sometimes up to a tablespoon and a half through repeated filling and emptying of the glands during orgasm. In vivo studies show that the amount can be considerably higher, producing volumes as much as one to one and a half litres of such fluid.^[17]

In society

Medical contradictions

Misinformation about female ejaculation can lead to misdiagnosis of underlying medical conditions or wrong diagnosis where no medical condition exists.

Current studies verify that female ejaculate is expelled through the urethra yet many continue to believe that the fluid leaves the body through the vagina. Expulsion of copious amounts of fluid from the vagina is called profuse vaginal discharge and can have several different causes:

• infection or sexually transmitted disease - presents with typical symptoms including itch, odor and / or redness;

• a sexually transmitted infection such as Trichomonas vaginalis which will often present without typical symptoms;^[18] or

• physiological discharge - an abundant amount of discharge with no underlying medical disorder.

For this reason it is important that any female who experiences abnormal amounts of vaginal discharge undergo a physical examination to rule out underlying medical conditions.

In other cases, women who may not be fully educated about female ejaculation may assume themselves to be suffering from urinary stress incontinence and seek medical intervention. Treatment for urinary stress incontinence may involve the use of medications or surgery, both unnecessary and dangerous if the source of the fluid leakage is female ejaculation.

British film classification

In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the phenomenon of female ejaculation, only claiming that all examples they have seen thus far during classification have been urination during sex. Therefore, any sex videos on the UK market are allegedly yet to feature the phenomenon.^[19]

See also

• Bartholin's gland
• Retrograde ejaculation, where the fluid travels up the urethra towards the bladder could also possibly account for the absence otherwise observed.

Notes

References

• Addiego, F., Belzer, E. G., Comolli, J., Moger, W., Perry, J. D., & Whipple, B. (1981). Female ejaculation: A case study. The Journal of Sex Research, 17, 13-21.
• Arthur, Clint (2004) "9 Free Secrets of New Sensual Power"
• Nicola Jones (2002-07-03). "Bigger is better when it comes to the G spot". New Scientist. Retrieved on 2006-06-29.