What is Orgasm?

 Orgasm

Definitions:

 In a clinical context, orgasm is usually defined strictly by the muscular contractions involved during sexual activity, along with the characteristic patterns of change in heart rate, blood pressure, and often respiration rate and depth. This is categorized as the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual tension during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic muscular contractions in the pelvic region.

 

Achieving orgasm:

Orgasms can be achieved by a variety of activities. In men, sufficient sexual stimulation of the penis can be achieved during vaginal or anal intercourse, oral sex (fellatio), non-penetrative sex or masturbation. In women, sufficient sexual stimulation can be achieved during vaginal intercourse, oral sex (cunnilingus), non-penetrative sex or masturbation. Orgasm may also be achieved by the use of a sex toy, such as a sensual vibrator or an erotic electrostimulation. It can additionally be achieved by stimulation of the nipples, uterus, or other erogenous zones, though this is rarer.
In addition to physical stimulation, orgasm can be achieved from psychological arousal alone, such as during dreaming (nocturnal emission for males or females) or by orgasm control. Orgasm by psychological stimulation alone was first reported among people who had spinal cord injury (SCI). Although SCI very often leads to loss of certain sensations and altered self-perception, a person with this disturbance is not deprived of sexual feelings such as sexual arousal and erotic desires.
A person may experience multiple orgasms, or an involuntary orgasm such as in the case of forced sexual contact (during rape or sexual assault). An involuntary orgasm from forced sexual contact often results in feelings of shame caused by internalization of victim-blaming attitudes. The incidence of those who experience unsolicited sexual contact and experience orgasm is very low, though possibly under-reported due to shame or embarrassment; such orgasms additionally happen regardless of gender.

In males

General variabilities

In men, the most common way of achieving orgasm is by physical sexual stimulation of the penis. This is usually accompanied by ejaculation, but it is possible, though also rare, for men to orgasm without ejaculation (known as a "dry orgasm") or to ejaculate without reaching orgasm (which may be a case of delayed ejaculation, a nocturnal emission or a case of anorgasmic ejaculation).Men may also achieve orgasm by stimulation of the prostate (see below).

Two-stage model

The traditional view of male orgasm is that there are two stages: emission following orgasm, almost instantly followed by a refractory period. In 1966, Masters and Johnson published pivotal research about the phases of sexual stimulation. Their work included women and men, and, unlike Alfred Kinsey in 1948 and 1953, tried to determine the physiological stages before and after orgasm.

In females

General orgasmic factors and variabilities

In women, the most common way to achieve orgasm is by physical sexual stimulation of the clitoris; general statistics indicate that 70–80 percent of women require direct clitoral stimulation (consistent manual, oral or other concentrated friction against the external parts of the clitoris) to achieve orgasm, though indirect clitoral stimulation (for example, via vaginal penetration) may also be sufficient.The Mayo Clinic stated, "Orgasms vary in intensity, and women vary in the frequency of their orgasms and the amount of stimulation necessary to trigger an orgasm." Clitoral orgasms are easier to achieve because the glans of the clitoris, or clitoris as a whole, has more than 8,000 sensory nerve endings, which is as many (or more in some cases) nerve endings present in the human penis or glans penis. As the clitoris is homologous to the penisit is the equivalent in its capacity to receive sexual stimulation.