The male orgasmic cycle goes through exactly the
same sequence: excitement, plateau, orgasm and resolution. Moreover, it is
equally complex.
The excitement phase begins as a response to a
sexual thought or feeling, or to physical stimulation. The penis responds
almost immediately, and becomes erect. Blood
fills the spaces (corpora cavernosa) within the flaccid (soft) penis, so that
it can enlarge to six inches or more in length when erect. Breathing deepens,
the pulse rate increases and the body is more sensitive.
The plateau phase follows, and the penis is now
fully erect. It may have darkened in colour, and a drop of liquid may appear at
the entrance to the urethra. This is seminal fluid, and it may contain a small
amount of sperm.
The testicles increase in size by as much as 50 per
cent, rising up towards the body. And the genital area increases in sensitivity
as orgasm is approached.
Orgasm is made up of two stages, but these are
linked in such a way that it is impossible to have the first without the
second. First sperm travel out of the testicles up the vas deferens (seminal
duct) to the seminal vesicles. These vesicles produce semen, which is mixed
with the sperm, and is then ready for ejaculation. About four seconds later the
fluid is pushed up into and along the urethra, a result of a series of
contractions made by the prostate gland and the urethral muscles. The semen is
then ejaculated out of the urethra. This is an extremely exciting
sensation.
The resolution phase sees that penis returning to a
non-aroused state, and loosing the erection. The physical tension, which has
accompanied arousal, now disappears, and this man may feel very relaxed and
sleepy.
