Comparisons of the Ejaculatory Response in Men and Animals

Abstract

Observations and experiments relating to the causes and results of ejaculation in male mammals of several species reveal that in a number of different mammals, erection and emission can be mediated by purely spinal mechanisms. In intact males, emission is possible without genital stimulation, and the occurrence of emission is not automatically associated with orgasm in men or with the normal behavior sequelae to ejaculation produced in animals by copulation. These and other similarities between sexual reflexes in primates, carnivores, and rodents are taken to indicate the potential values of a broadly comparative approach to human sexual functions.