TWO RESPONSES
Two generalizations can be made, as two responses occur in all men who are sexually stimulated. The first is that there is a widespread increase in the size of small blood-vessels, and congestion due to the increased quantity of blood within them. Although the congestion is widespread, it is most obviously concentrated in the genitals, particularly in the penis. The congestion increases through sexual stimulation, as sexual tension rises, and is most marked in the late plateau and the orgasmic phases of the sexual cycle.
The second response is a general increase in the tension in the man’s muscles, so that a slight stimulus produces a larger response than usual. This reaction also increases in intensity as sexual tension rises. It culminates in the involuntary muscle contractions which accompany orgasm.
This makes it clear that a man’s response to sexual stimulation is both general and genital. The general changes which occur include an increase in the heart rate from its non-stimulated rate of 70-80 beats a minute to between 100-50 beats a minute in the late plateau ami orgasmic phases. This increase in the heart rate is not solely due to sexual exertion or sexual gymnastics, and is not reduced by 1
raining, as is the increase in the heart rate of an athlete.
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