Understanding Female Ejaculation

Did she just wet the bed or is there more behind that squirt? With scientific research still unraveling the mysteries of the female body, what was once mistaken for urine has become one of the most highly sought after sexual potions around. The phenomenon of female ejaculation involves a woman releasing a viscous fluid at peak sexual arousal, including orgasm.

Also known as "ambrosia", female emission has been described by the historians of eastern and western psychology, anatomy, and medicine for the last 2,000 years. The Chinese Toaists texts of ancient Asia first mentioned female ejaculation in the 4^th century, with ancient Indian writings during that time further casting it as a reaction independent of reproduction.

In ancient western writings, Aristotle and Galen, at around 300 B.C. and 2^nd century respectively, also mentioned the emission of female fluid, with Dutch physician and anatomist Reinjier De Graaf giving what he coined the "female prostate" (a.k.a. periurethral glands and Skene's glands) its first scientific description in 1672. Seemingly homologous to the male prostate, this glandular tissue is below the bladder and surrounds the urethra, and was reported by De Graaf as a collection of glands and ducts around the female urethra that produced a "pituitoserous juice, making women more libidinous with its pungency and saltiness." De Graaf also held that the fluid "lubricates their sexual parts in agreeable fashion during coitus." Fast-forward to a 2007 study¹, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, and it seems that De Graaf was quite on the money, with perineal ultrasound and biochemical studies of female ejaculate indicating that the female prostate is indeed an organ and the source of female ejaculation.

While modern researchers are still trying to figure out the intricacies of female ejaculation, best guesses are that it originates in the bladder (orgastic urination), in the vagina, or in the paraurethral (Skene's) glands. Studies, to date, indicate that every female has a varying number of periurethral glands that surround her urethra and empty into it. During sexual arousal, these glands fill with an alkaline liquid – ejaculate – instead of urine. A portion of this fluid is then released during states of great sexual excitement, especially those involving G spot stimulation, primarily through the urethra. While often accompanied by orgasm, an electrophysiologic study² of female ejaculation, conducted at Cairo University in Egypt, found that female orgasm was not associated with the appearance of fluid being emitted out of the urethra or vagina. Other research³ at King's College Hospital in London has confirmed that experiencing female ejaculation is not due to the bladder condition known as "detrusor overactivity" or other urinary tract symptoms associated with coital incontinence, the leakage of urine during sex.

The purpose of female ejaculation is pure speculation at this point. It may be a trace of embryo development or a fluid meant to provide protection against urinary tract infections in being secreted into the urethra during sexual arousal, acting as an antimicrobial secretion and enabling women to have intercourse more often, increasing the chance of pregnancy.

Analyses of fluid samples reveal that its composition is not urine, and often contains components also found in male seminal fluid sans sperm. Female ejaculate appears to be a mixture with lower levels of creatinine and urea than that found in urine, and higher levels of prostate specific antigen, prostatic acidic phosphatase, prostate specific acid phosphatase, fructose and glucose—components of male ejaculate. One study concluded that the fluid came from a combination of residual moisture in the walls of the bladder and from post draining kidney output, in addition to potential emission of the urethral glands and ducts.

While at times scentless and tasteless, at other times female ejaculate has been described as earthy, sweet, or salty in smell and taste. Any traces of urine may have it smelling or tasting a tad like such. Emitted in as little as a few drops to 1.5 cups, it can be either clear or have the appearance of skim milk.

With surveys indicating that anywhere from 10% - 69% of women report having experienced, why some women "squirt" more than others is largely unknown. A sonogram of the female prostate, in women who experience emission, shows that the shape and size of these women's glandular tissue is similar to that of the male prostate, possibly explaining why these women can ejaculate. It has further been speculated that women who have not experienced such actually do, but as more of a seep than a spurt. Their potion simply isn't as noticeable.

Image: lrargerich