Clitoral blood flow increases following vaginal pressure stimulation.

ABSTRACT

The vascular responses of clitoral arteries to vaginal pressure stimulation in 10 volunteer women were evaluated by Doppler ultrasonography. Pressure stimulations (20-160 mm Hg) along the lower third of the vagina increased blood velocity and flow into clitoral arteries in 9 of the 10 women. The latency and duration of the Doppler responses ranged from 0.1 to 1.6 sec and from 3.2 to 9.5 sec, respectively, and the response was associated with a blood flow increase of 4 to 11 times the baseline prestimulation level. This response parallels that recorded in the cavernous arteries in men when a similar range of pressure stimulations are applied to the glans penis. Similar responses evoked in the male and female suggest a sexual synergy that may occur during intercourse in that such physiological responses and reflexes may be reciprocally reinforced.