HUMAN

SEXUAL
RESPONSE

By: Jhean Means

 The Human Sexual Response
– Sexuality has always been a part of human life
– One common finding has been that feelings and
attitudes about sex vary widely across cultures
and individuals
– Although sexual experience is unique to each
individual, sexual physiology (how the body
responds to sexual arousal) has common features.
The Sexual Response Cycle
– The sexual response cycle
refers to the sequence of
physical and emotional
changes that occur as a
person becomes sexually
aroused and participates in
sexually stimulating
activities, including
intercourse and
masturbation.
 The Sexual Response Cycle
– In 1996, two of the earliest researchers (Masters
and Johnson) of sexual response published the
results of a major study based on more than
10,000 episodes of sexual activity among more
than 600 men and women
– Whether stages are felt as separate steps within
these stages, desire, arousal and orgasm is
individualized.
 The Sexual Response Cycle
– They described human sexual response as a cycle
with four (4) discrete stages:
1. Excitement
2. Plateau
3. Orgasm
4. Resolution
 The Sexual Response Cycle
Desire is the mental state created by external and
internal stimuli that induces a need or want to partake in
sexual activity. Desire may be said to consist of:
1) biologic roots, which in part are based on hormones
such as androgen and estrogen
2) motivational roots, which are in part based on
intimacy, pleasure and relationship issues and
3) cognitive issues such as risk and wish.
 EXCITEMENT
– Excitement occurs with physical and
psychological stimulation (sight, sound, emotion,
or thought) that causes parasympathetic nerve
stimulation.
– Characteristics of the excitement phase can last
from less than a minute to several hours.
 EXCITEMENT
– The resulting increased blood supply leads to
vasocongestion and increasing muscular tension.
– In women, vasocongestion causes the:
ᴥ clitoris to increase in size
ᴥ mucoid fluid to appear on vaginal walls for lubrication
ᴥvagina widens in diameter and increases in length
ᴥbreast nipples become erect.
ᴥmuscle tension – (MYOTONIA)
 EXCITEMENT
– In men, this vasocongestion is responsible for:
ᴥ penile erection occurs
ᴥ scrotal thickening
ᴥ elevation of the testes
ᴥ Myotonia
– In both sexes, there is an increase in heart about
70bpm and respiratory rate and blood pressure.
EXCITEMENT
Vasocongestion
PLATEAU
– This stage is reached before orgasm; sexual excitement
continues to grow. Stable level of arousal, may lead to
orgasm
– This phase can be very brief, typically lasting only a few
seconds to a few minutes. Many people find that
extending the length of the plateau period can lead to
more intense orgasms.
– There is no clear point at which a person visibly shifts
from the excitement phase to the plateau phase
PLATEAU – In the plateau phase, the general
characteristics of the excitement
phase continue, but become more
intensified. These characteristics
include the following:
Women:
- clitoris is drawn forward and
retracts under the clitoral prepuce
- lower part of the vagina becomes
extremely congested (formation of
the orgasmic platform)
- increased breast nipple elevation
 Men:
PLATEAU
- vasocongestion
leads to distention of
the penis
- Heart rate increases
to 100 -175 bpm and
respiratory rate to
about 40
breaths/min.
ORGASM
- Occurs when stimulation proceeds through the plateau
stage to appoint at which vigorous contraction of
muscles in the pelvic area expels or dissipates blood and
fluid from the area of congestion.
- The average number of contractions for the woman is 8-
15 contractions at intervals of 1 every 0.8 seconds.
ORGASM
- In men, muscle contractions surrounding the seminal
vessels and prostate project semen into the proximal
urethra. These contractions are followed immediately by
3-7 propulsive ejaculatory contractions, occurring at the
same interval as in the woman, which force semen from
the penis.
- This is the shortest stage of sexual response cycle.
Orgasm is usually experienced as intense pleasure
affecting the whole body, not jus the pelvic area. It is also
a highly personal experience. Descriptions of orgasm
vary from one individual to another.
ORGASM
RESOLUTION
– The resolution is a 30-minute period during which the
external and internal genital organs return to an
unaroused state.
– In men, a refractory period occurs during which further
orgasm is impossible.
– Women do not go through this period, so it is possible for
women who are interested and properly stimulated to
have additional organisms immediately after the first.
RESOLUTION
Characteristics include:
ᴥBody gradually returns to its unexcited state
ᴥVagina and labia return to normal size and state
ᴥUterus lowers to its prearoused position
ᴥRespiration, pulse, and blood pressure return to their
normal levels
ᴥSex flush leaves the body in reverse order from which
it developed
ᴥPerspiration occurs