Your Erection - Understand It & Control It

Located just below the corpora cavernosa is the corpus spongiosum.

This is a single tube containing the urethra. Here passes both men's urine and semen during urination and ejaculation. Therefore, the erection results in swelling and enlargement of the penis enabling men's sexual activities.

Stated simply, as the blood flows into the penis, it stiffens.

Both its girth and length increase, and the penis rises to an angle from 15 degrees to sometimes over 90 degrees.

The Stages of Erection Leading to Ejaculation

Stage1 The Excitement Phase

This begins with vasocongestion (accumulations of blood in the pelvic area). This is dependent on sexual stimulation.

Here the diameter of the urethra doubles. The scrotum moves towards the body, and both heart rate and blood pressure increase. There is a pronounced muscular tension throughout the body.

Stage 2 The Plateau

The penis is now hard, and has risen to an angle. It has increased in both girth and length. The testes have increased 50% of their normal size, and are closer to the body.

The heart is beating faster, and is now at about 100 to 150 beats per minute. Muscular tension throughout the body has now increased.

Stage 3 The Orgasmic Phase

Just before the orgasmic phase begins, there is a pronounced enlargement of the penis and a further hardening condition.

This will be accompanied by a very familiar internal sensation that the orgasm is arriving. This is technically called "ejaculatory inevitability".

It cannot be stopped (unless you can move back to Stage 2). Just after you sense this, the man will ejaculate.

It is notable that orgasm and ejaculation are not the same event, and can occur separately. There are great physiochemical changes in the man's body causing what is known as the orgasmic reaction.

Stage 4 The Resolution

Just after ejaculation, the man's body starts to return to its normal un-excited state.
The penis loses about 50% of its erection at once, and in less than 5 minutes, it is its normal size.

However, it can take many hours for a man to actually return to his normal state.

This is why sleep often follows ejaculation and orgasm.

After the erection, orgasm and ejaculation, a man moves into something called the refracatory period. During this phase they usually cannot be re-stimulatied (unless this period is very very short in duration).

Understanding your erection lets you control it. For example, as you see yourself moving into stage 3, slow down, step yourself back to stage 2.

In this way you can prolong your sexual experience and more, prolong your partner's sexual experience.