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Female Ejaculation Orgasm vs. Coital Incontinence: A Systematic Review

Article  in  Journal of Sexual Medicine · May 2013


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International Urogynecology Journal
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-017-3527-9

REVIEW ARTICLE

Differential diagnostics of female Bsexual^ fluids: a narrative review


Zlatko Pastor 1,2,3 & Roman Chmel 1

Received: 9 October 2017 / Accepted: 24 November 2017


# The International Urogynecological Association 2017

Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis Women expel various kinds of fluids during sexual activities. These are manifestations of sexual
arousal and orgasm or coital incontinence. This study is aimed at suggesting a diagnostic scheme to differentiate among these
phenomena.
Methods Web of Science and Ovid (MEDLINE) databases were systematically searched from 1950 to 2017 for articles on
various fluid expulsion phenomena in women during sexual activities, which contain relevant information on sources and
composition of the expelled fluids.
Results An ultra-filtrate of blood plasma of variable quantity, which is composed of transvaginal transudate at sexual stimulation,
enables vaginal lubrication. Female ejaculation (FE) is the secretion of a few milliliters of thick, milky fluid by the female prostate
(Skene’s glands) during orgasm, which contains prostate-specific antigen. Squirting (SQ) is defined as the orgasmic transurethral
expulsion of tenths of milliliters of a form of urine containing various concentrations of urea, creatinine, and uric acid. FE and SQ
are two phenomena with different mechanisms. Coital incontinence (CI) could be classified into penetration and orgasm forms,
which could be associated with stress urinary incontinence or detrusor hyperactivity.
Conclusion Squirting, FE, and CI are different phenomena with various mechanisms and could be differentiated according to
source, quantity, expulsion mechanism, and subjective feelings during sexual activities.

Keywords Female ejaculation . Squirting . Coital incontinence . Female prostate . Vaginal lubrication

Introduction understanding. Most often, the fluids are described as fe-


male ejaculation because of its similarity to male ejacula-
Women expel various kinds of fluids during sexual activi- tion. Previous research reported that Skene’s paraurethral
ties [1]. The prevalence is around 10–54% [2–5], and the glands (the female prostate) are the source of expulsion
quantity of the fluid ranges from 0.3 to 900 mL [5–10]. [2–6, 12, 13]. Moreover, discrepancy in the amount of
Expulsion may be manifested by the feelings of wetness, expelled fluid [2–5, 9] and the prevalence of various ex-
secretion, di scharge, or m assive fluid emission. pulsions [5–9] were associated with the erroneous assump-
Controversial opinions on the fluids’ origin, quantity, com- tion that the fluids expelled were identical and from the
position, and expulsion mechanism exist [11], and discrep- same source. Currently, the expelled fluids could be related
ancy in terminology, inaccurate characteristics, and unclear to various phenomena [10, 14, 15]. A smaller volume of
fluid expulsion mechanisms have resulted in an incorrect fluids may be expelled by the female prostate [7, 8, 10, 13,
16–21], vagina [22], or Bartholin’s glands [23]. A larger
volume could originate from the urinary bladder [6, 7, 10,
* Zlatko Pastor 14, 15]. Fluid emission could be a common and desirable
pastor.zlatko@volny.cz
manifestation of sexual arousal (vaginal lubrication), a
physiological sexual response (squirting, SQ; female ejac-
1
Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, ulation, FE), a result of coital incontinence (CI), or a com-
University Hospital Motol, Charles University, Prague, V Úvalu 84, bination of various fluids.
Prague 5, Czech Republic
The aim of our review was to identify the sources of
2
National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic fluids expelled during sexual activities; compare their
3
Institute of Sexology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, volume, biochemical composition, and expulsion
Prague, Czech Republic
Int Urogynecol J

Fig. 1 The selection process

mechanism; create a scheme based on their characteris- Selection of studies and data analysis
tics for differential diagnostics of similar but physiolog-
ically different phenomena; and distinguish pathological EndNote Online (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, PA,
conditions from physiological manifestations of sexual USA) was used for the preparation of the reference list.
arousal. We assessed the quality of the studies; confirmed the eli-
gibility of the titles, abstracts, and full texts; and indepen-
dently selected the titles and abstracts twice. To define the
differential diagnosis of FE and SQ, manuscripts without
Materials and methods exact information about the quantity, composition, and flu-
id expulsion mechanism were excluded. Studies that
Literature search assessed the previously mentioned phenomena based on
women’s subjective feelings or on research questionnaire
We conducted a comprehensive and systematic search of were not included. Only reviews containing a comprehen-
the international databases Web of Science and Ovid sive analysis were included. In the case of CI, articles
(MEDLINE). These databases were searched for the peri- showing no correlations with urine leakage during sexual
od 1950 to 2017. The search was performed in June 2017 activities and in which the type of urinary incontinence
with the following terms: Bfemale ejaculation^ AND was not verified by urodynamic investigation were exclud-
Borgasm,^ Bfemale ejaculation^ AND Bfemale prostate,^ ed. We read the full text of the articles and made the selec-
Bsquirting^ AND Borgasm,^ Bvaginal lubrication^ OR tion based on the aforementioned eligibility criteria.
Bsecretion^ AND Borgasm,^ and Bcoital incontinence^ Because of the small number of studies and patients and
AND Borgasm.^ The search was then refined to Bhuman^ the studies’ heterogeneity, we could not use meta-
and Bwomen.^ In addition, we performed a manual search analytical methods. Hence, this review was based on a
and scanned the reference list of selected articles. To ob- descriptive analysis of selected articles; our study is pre-
tain appropriate articles related to a comparison between sented as a narrative synthesis of selected studies. We used
male and female prostates and their secretion capacity, we semi-quantitative characteristics of the phenomena for
search for Bmale prostate^ AND Bsperm^ OR Bsemen^ higher variability of the results and better compre
AND BWHO.^ hensibility.
Int Urogynecol J

Characteristics of selected studies secretions from Bartholin’s and Skene’s glands [28]. The daily
production is approximately 6 g [32]. LF is characterized by
Our search yielded 622 citations, of which 75 studies high potassium and low sodium concentrations compared with
were retrieved (in full text). Fifty-three studies published plasma [29] and has an average pH of 4.7 (range, 3.4–6.4) [27].
from 1950 to 2017 were included in the list. Five book The mean vaginal discharge quantity is 1.5 g/8 h (maximum at
c h a p t e r s a n d t w o r e p o r t s b y t h e Wo r l d H e a l t h mid-cycle, 2.0 g/8 h), although the amount varies significantly
Organization (WHO) and International Urogynecological between the different days of the cycle; low mean values may
Association (IUGA) were added. Figure 1 shows the se- be observed on days 7 and 26 (1.4 g/8 h) [30]. During sexual
lection process. stimulation, LF production is increased to 0.7 mL/15 min [26],
A total of 63 studies with relevant information (FE, 27; SQ, and both sodium and chloride ion concentrations also increase
4; female prostate, 15; vaginal lubrication, 15; CI, 13; male [29]. Kinsey et al. assumed that vaginal fluid may be forced out
prostate and semen parameters, 7; Table 1) were included in by the contractions of the perivaginal muscles; thus, it resem-
the review. Some of the studies reported on several topics bles fluid expulsion [22].
simultaneously, and the information overlapped.

Female ejaculation and female prostate


Results
A Breal^ FE is the secretion of an extremely scanty (few
milliliters), milky fluid by the female prostate [7, 10, 15],
Women may expel fluids during sexual activities from the
which was described by de Graaf in 1762 and later de-
vagina, urinary bladder, and female prostate (Fig. 2).
scribed as Skene’s paraurethral glands [11, 38]. The fe-
Lubrication fluid (LF) originates from the vagina; urinary
male prostate is an exocrine organ of variable size and
bladder is the source of the fluids expelled at SQ or CI.
location and contains cellular equipment for neuroendo-
FE originates from the female prostate; female prostate
crine activity [33, 39]. According to various authors, it
secretion may also contaminate other fluids, especially
exists in only two-thirds of women [40], 1 in 2 women
during SQ.
[41], or in 6 out of 7 women [42]. It weighs 2.6 to 5.2 g,
The fluids differ from each other according to the source,
consists of a maximum of one tenth to one quarter of the
expulsion mechanism, volume, color, density, chemical com-
male prostate (23.7 g), and consists of glands, ducts, and
position (prostate-specific antigen [PSA], uric acid, urea, cre-
musculofibrous tissues. Compared with the male prostate,
atinine, sodium, potassium, chloride), pH, manifestations, and
it has more musculofibrous tissues and ducts, but substan-
women’s subjective feelings (Table 2).
tially fewer glands (Table 3) [33].
The female prostate’s secretion contains a high concentra-
Vaginal lubrication fluid tion of PSA, prostatic-specific acid phosphatase, fructose, and
glucose (Table 2) [8, 19]. It histomorphologically resembles
Lubrication fluid is an ultra-filtrate of blood plasma. Blood flow the male prostate before puberty [40]. According to Zaviačič
in the genital area is increased during sexual arousal, and LF et al., the prostatic (paraurethral) ducts penetrate into the lu-
from the vaginal venous plexus enters the vaginal lumen men of the urethra along its whole length [33]. Dwyer argues
transvaginally [25, 32, 36]. The vaginal fluid may also contain that single or multiple orifices are on the sides of the urethral
peritoneal and follicular fluid, uterine fluid, cervical fluid, and meatus [40]. The role of the female prostate is unclear; some

Table 1 Articles according to


topic, character of the collected Original Systematic Case Book Laboratory Total
information, and the type and research review report chapter manual or
number of publications used for international
the review classification

Female ejaculation 11 14 2 0 0 27
Squirting 2 1 1 0 0 4
Female prostate 11 3 0 1 0 15
Vaginal lubrication 11 1 0 3 0 15
Coital incontinence 10 2 0 0 1 13
Male prostate and semen 4 1 0 1 1 7
parameters
Int Urogynecol J

Fig. 2 Sources of fluids expelled during sexual activities

studies assume that prostate secretions have an antimicrobial composition of this fluid could be identical to urine [14] or its
or protective effect against urinary tract infections [49]. diluted form [10]. The volume of massive gushes (which
could be recurring) usually ranges from 15 to 110 mL (medi-
Squirting (gushing) an, 60 mL), and the color is most frequently described as
Bclear as water^ [7, 9, 14]. The fluid may be contaminated
Squirting is the involuntary expulsion of a substantial amount by the female prostate secretion and may contain a small con-
of urine during sexual activity [14]. Until recently, most or- centration of PSA [7, 10]. Squirting occurs during sexual stim-
gasmic emissions have been erroneously called the FE [10, ulation of the clitoro-urethro-vaginal complex [10, 14].
14, 19, 37]. Currently, such massive gushes at orgasm are Women and their partners consider squirting to be a positive
referred to as squirting (gushing) [10, 14]. The biochemical phenomenon that improves their sexual life [9].

Table2 Summary of fluids compared according to source, expulsion mechanism, volume, density, chemical composition, color, manifestations, and
subjective feelings

Vaginal lubrication Female ejaculation Squirting (gushing) Coital incontinence

Orgasmic Penetration
form form

Source [6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 24–37] Vagina Female prostate Urinary bladder Urinary bladder
Expulsion mechanism [7, 10, 14, 15, Transvaginal Glands secretion Transurethral Voided urine
24–32] transudation expulsion
Volume [7, 10, 14, 15, 26, 30] +/++ + ++/+++ ++/+++
Density [10, 30–32] +/++ ++/+++ + +
Prostate-specific antigen [7, 10, 14, 15, 33] −/+ +++ +/++ −/++
Uric acid [10, 14] – – +/+++ +++
Urea [10, 14] – – +/+++ +++
Creatinine [10, 14] – – +/+++ +++
Sodium [10, 14, 19, 24, 25, 28, 29] + + ++/+++ +++
Potassium [10, 14, 19, 24, 25, 28, 29] +/++ + ++/+++ +++
Chloride [10, 14, 19, 24, 25, 28, 29] + + ++/+++ +++
Glucose [10, 33] – +++ −/+ –
Fructose [10, 33] – +++ −/+ –
pH (acidity) [7, 27, 33] +++ – −/+ +
Urodynamic examination [19] Normal finding Normal finding Normal finding Signs of stress incontinence
or DOA
Color [7, 10, 14, 15, 24, 25, 28–32] Clear, transparent Whitish, milky Clear, yellowish Yellow
Manifestation [7, 10, 14, 15, 24, 25, Lubrication, transparent Insignificant amount Massive expulsion Involuntary leakage of urine
28–32] discharge of prostate of transparent fluid
secretion
Subjective feelings [19] Sexual arousal, Orgasm, satisfaction Orgasm, satisfaction Humiliation, shame,
wetness embarrassment

+++ large quantity, ++ moderate quantity, + small quantity, − no presence or no parameters available
Int Urogynecol J

Table 3 Comparison of
morphological and functional Male prostate Female prostate
parameters of the male and female
prostate Morphological structures [21, 33] Prostatic glands (+++) Prostatic glands (+)
Musculofibrous tissue (++) Musculofibrous tissue (+++)
Ducts (+) Ducts (+++)
Average size of the prostate (cm) Length (3.4) Length (3.3)
[21, 33] Width (4.5) Width (1.9)
Height (2.9) Height (1.0)
Average weight (g) [21, 33] 23.7 2.6–5.2
Average volume prostatic 0.2–2.3 0.89 ± 0.52
secretion (mL) [10, 41–48]
Physiological function [40–49] Increase in ejaculation semen volume, Unclear, antimicrobial
facilitation of reproduction function
Character of the emission [10, 46] Expulsion, discharge during orgasm Secretion during orgasm
Localization [21, 33, 47] Surrounding the prostatic part of the Urethral wall
urethra
Prostate-specific antigen +++ ++
[10, 19, 21, 33]
Glucose [21, 33] + +++
Fructose [21, 33] + +++
Potassium [19] + +
Sodium [19] + +
Chloride [19] + +

+++ large quantity, ++ moderate quantity, + small quantity

Coital incontinence Main differential diagnosis criteria for clinical practice

Coital incontinence is manifested by an involuntary leakage of In clinical practice, the diagnosis of emitted fluids is based
urine during sexual intercourse and could be classified into mainly on quantity, appearance, and subjective feelings.
penetration and orgasm forms [50]. The prevalence of CI in Transurethral gushes of tens to hundreds of milliliters of trans-
women with urinary incontinence (UI) ranges from 10 to 67% parent fluid that is not considered by women without UI at
[51–55]. Compared with women with detrusor overactivity orgasm as urine is SQ [10, 14]. These women, who have no
(DOA), women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) more disorder related to urine leakage [34], usually experience in-
frequently report CI [53, 55]. Women with CI always have tensive sexual arousal and reach orgasm (even repeatedly)
abnormal urodynamic parameters, unlike women with ejacu- without any problem. At fluid expulsion, they feel substantial
lation orgasm (FE or SQ) without CI [34]. Some studies cor- sexual catharsis and consider the fluid different from urine in
relate penetration CI with the diagnosis of SUI and orgasmic smell, taste, and appearance [6]. In women with SUI or DOA,
CI with DOA [51, 55]; other studies in this regard are rather CI can be observed. During penile penetration or at orgasm,
ambiguous [55–61]. they experience unwanted leakage of urine. Consequently,
they feel frustrated and the sexual activity is rather unpleasant
for them because of CI. During FE, a small amount of thick
Discussion and milky fluid mixed with lubrication fluid is expelled by the
female prostate, which in turn makes differentiation challeng-
Female ejaculation, SQ, and CI are three completely different ing. BReal^ FE often occurs without noticing a leakage of a
phenomena. Understanding their mechanisms may help to larger fluid volume (unlike SQ). FE is perceived mainly as the
differentiate them according to their manifestations, subjective feeling of wetness due to increased lubrication during orgasm.
feelings, and biochemical composition of the expelled fluid. Moreover, a greater quantity of fluid from the vagina may be
Launching Bsquirting^ as a term in the scientific literature in forced out by a one-time pulse emission [22]. It may occur
2011 stopped the use of Bfemale ejaculation^ as a Buniversal^ primarily after penis withdrawal or after coitus, and it is most-
label for all kinds of fluids emitted by women during sexual ly a discharge (not gush) of accumulated LF, which is possibly
activity [10, 14, 15]. mixed with sperm.
Int Urogynecol J

Sources, volume, and mechanism of expelled fluids Khan et al., involuntary bladder contraction and relaxation of
the sphincter during female orgasm are possible [57].
The fluid expelled at SQ has a definite origin (the urinary Earlier studies described most fluid expulsions as FE, and
bladder) [7, 10, 14], which may accumulate hundreds of mil- the female prostate was considered to be the main source [62],
liliters of fluid; the contractions of musculus detrusor vesicae releasing 3–50 mL of fluid (Bullough et al., 3–12 mL;
facilitate the massive expulsions. When we assessed previous Goldberg et al., 3–15 mL; Zaviačič et al., 1–5 mL; Heath,
research, we found that most of the orgasmic expulsions, 30–50 mL; Belzer, 10 mL) [5, 6, 8, 17, 20]. The main evi-
which are currently most likely referred to as SQ, are de- dence of the female prostate as the origin of the fluid was the
scribed as FE [2, 6, 13, 17, 20, 23]. The authors considered presence of PSA (or PAP) in the emission. Although PSA is
all female orgasmic expulsions analogous to male ejaculation the main marker of female prostate secretion, PSA may also
[13] and noted that the female prostate is the main source of be found in lower concentrations in the fluids expelled from
the fluids [33]. The female prostate may produce fluid bio- other sources, such as the vagina and urinary bladder, which
chemically comparable with the male prostate secretion; how- could be associated with contamination by the female prostate
ever, the quantity squirted at an orgasm differs [14]. secretion during simultaneous expulsions from the other
Transurethral expulsion and their origin in the urinary bladder sources. According to Rubio-Casillas and Jannini, a decreas-
were confirmed by catheterizing the urinary bladder [7] or by ing PSA concentration is observed in the following: female
ultrasound bladder examination before and after SQ [14]. ejaculate > urine > squirting > vaginal secretion [10].
With the bladder’s capacity (around 500 mL), expulsions However, a previous study demonstrated that the female pros-
with an average volume of 60 mL during sexual stimulation tate could not be the source of massive expulsions considering
may be repeated [9, 14]. Schubach assumed that during sexual its size, structure, and secretion capacity. On average, it
excitation (increased blood pressure, faster glomerular filtra- weighs 2.6 to 5.2 g and it is four to five times smaller than
tion, changes in hormonally conditioned reabsorption mecha- the male prostate. Moreover, the glandular and ductal compo-
nisms in the kidneys), the bladder is filled more rapidly with nents are in reverse ratio to those of the male prostate [33]. The
less concentrated urine [7]. Such a premise could explain why average volume of male ejaculate is 3.6 mL (1.2–7.6), of
some authors (Schubach, 8 respondents; Rubio-Casillas and which 15–30% is from the male prostate; the secretion volume
Jannini, 1 respondent) reported that SQ is composed of diluted of the male prostate ranges roughly from 0.2 to 2.3 mL
urine, which contains much less uric acid, urea, and creatinine [43–46]. The secretion volume of the female prostate is
[7, 10], whereas others claim that the fluid at SQ is identical in around 1 mL [10, 19]. Hence, the female prostate could not
biochemical composition to urine (Salama, 7 women; our un- be the main source of the massive fluid expulsions.
published study, 1 woman) [14]. Moreover, Wimpissinger
et al. proved that in two women, using their expelled fluid, Differential diagnostic criteria of expelled fluid
which they considered FE, a high PSA and glucose content according to biochemical analysis and examination
(without volume data), unlike voided urine [19]. Goldberg using a device
et al. showed that the fluid emitted in six patients is chemically
similar to urine [6]. The chemical analysis (prostatic acid The expelled fluids could be indicatively differentiated ac-
phosphatase [PAP], urea, creatinine, glucose) in a previous cording to their manifestations; however, the precise diagnosis
case report involving one patient indicated that the expulsion is based on a biochemical analysis or examination using a
fluid was not urine [13]. Neither Goldberg et al. [6] nor device (ultrasound, urodynamic examination, magnetic reso-
Addiego et al. [13] provided the exact volumes of the emitted nance imaging). Biochemical analysis of FE revealed high
fluid. Nevertheless, most likely, the volume of the bladder concentrations of PSA, glucose, and fructose, whereas the
content and urine concentration immediately before initiating fluid at SQ, unlike FE, has higher concentrations of uric acid,
sexual activity and the possible dilution during sexual stimu- urea, creatinine, and sodium; has a substantially lower density;
lation play a substantial role in the composition of the expelled and contain practically no fructose or glucose [7, 9, 10].
fluid at SQ. The concentration of the emitted fluid may be Biochemical differentiation of expelled fluids during orgasmic
influenced by other factors, such as water intake, surrounding incontinence at CI and orgasm at SQ is more difficult to per-
temperature, physical activity, metabolic condition, hormonal form. The quantity and appearance of the fluid may be similar.
activity, overall health condition, and psychogenic aspects. The exact diagnosis is based on the fact that continent women
Previous studies with a small number of women with SQ with ejaculation orgasm (SQ) show neither high detrusor ac-
(16 respondents) had contradictory conclusions and thus tivity nor any other abnormal urodynamic parameters unlike
could not establish a clear mechanism of the creation of the women with CI, who have urodynamic evidence of SUI or
expelled fluid [7, 10, 14]. The function of the bladder sphinc- DOA [34]. Differentiation based on biochemical markers
ter, which should be closed during sexual arousal and orgasm, characteristic of urine (uric acid, urea, creatinine, chloride,
remains to be clearly identified [11]. However, according to potassium) could be misleading; although some authors
Int Urogynecol J

provided evidence of lower quantity of these markers at SQ Limitations and deficiencies of the study
(SQ is a diluted fluid from the urinary bladder) [10], others
found no differences (SQ is voided urine) [14]. Future studies In our study, articles on the characteristics and the exact com-
should investigate whether substantial urine dilution occurs at position of expelled fluids during sexual activity among wom-
SQ, resulting from sexual arousal and increased renal activity, en were lacking, and the groups of respondents were small;
or whether the fluid at SQ is just urine. Differentiation of thus, having a statistically significant analysis was not possi-
lubrication fluid from other fluids is not usually difficult, as ble. Only studies with approximately 10 respondents and a
the former is a desired and common sexual response. Massive few individual case reports were included in the assessment
fluid emissions from the vagina are considered discharge of [6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 19]. Other previous studies use different
accumulated LF rather than gushes of fluid. Women with lu- methodological procedures and inconsistent terminology, and
brication problems are at a disadvantage in terms of sexual the characteristic of the examined fluids is mostly based on
satisfaction, and a prevalence of lubrication disorders of 5.8 to only the subjective feelings of the respondents [3, 4, 12, 23,
19.7% among fertile women was reported [63]. 62]. The term Bsquirting^ was only used for the first time in
the scientific literature in 2011 [10]. Currently, fluid expul-
sions during sexual activities would not be immediately re-
Coital incontinence, its forms, and differential ferred to as FE only; the expulsions could also be SQ [4–9, 11,
diagnostics 13, 19, 20, 23]. Moreover, older studies are focused mainly on
the female prostate, its localization, anatomical composition,
Whether the fluid expelled at FE (or SQ) is from the and biochemical analysis of its secretion. Although they
female prostate or the urinary bladder and whether it is looked into the relationship between orgasm and fluid gushes,
urine has been a major topic of dispute. The fluid at SQ an exact biochemical analysis was not performed, and the
was (inaccurately) attributed to the female prostate based volume was not identified.
on the concentrations of PSA and PAP, which were con- Having a larger group of respondents for the study appears
sidered the main markers for differentiation. Moreover, difficult as the topic is extremely sensitive, and full coopera-
the detection of PAP in the urine may be complicated, tion of women and their partners with the research team is
as the concentration is small and diagnostic kits primarily required.
serve to determine the level of phosphatase in the blood
and not in the urine [6]. Women with CI experience leak-
Importance of further research and its benefit
age of urine frequently and involuntarily during the day;
for clinical practice
thus, there is no problem with the identification of CI.
They were able to recognize that urine is leaked during
Further studies on expelled fluids during sexual activities in
sexual activities, unlike women who are capable of
women are warranted to obtain specific knowledge on their
squirting and do not consider the fluid to be urine [6].
characteristics and biochemical composition. The creation of a
CI is initiated by various situations, such as increased
practical algorithm for the differential diagnostics of the phe-
abdominal pressure, penile insertion, deep penetration,
nomena (FE, SQ, CI) for the use of specialists is essential. The
high arousal, orgasm, and clitoral stimulation [58], and
information could be used to prevent erroneous consideration
by psychogenic factors as well. Hence, most women
of FE and SQ as disorder symptoms that require a therapy, as
avoid sex or prevent involuntary urine leakage by voiding
is required in cases of CI.
before the sexual activity. Determining whether the incon-
tinence is penetration or orgasmic in form is not difficult,
as a woman could identify at which phase of sexual ac-
tivity urine leakage occurs. However, inconsistent opin- Conclusion
ions are noted for whether penetration incontinence oc-
curs mainly at SUI [51, 52, 54–58, 60] owing to increased We have differentiated among the four types of fluids expelled
mobility of the urethrovesical junction [56] and whether during sexual activities in relation to sexual arousal and or-
orgasmic incontinence is related to DOA [51]. El-Azab gasm. Apart from the desired lubrication and involuntary
stated that the reason for urine leakage at orgasm is not urine leakage disorder, two different physiological but unusual
definitely DOA, but an incompetent urethral sphincter or phenomena exist: FE and SQ. At FE, a small amount of fluid
vaginal prolapse [55]. In a differential diagnosis, we is secreted by the female prostate, and at SQ, the fluid similar
should take into account the possibility that CI might de- to or identical to urine is squirted transurethrally from the
velop in the course of a woman’s life or in a woman with urinary bladder. Further study is necessary considering the
the ability to squirt, or that a woman with symptoms of UI limited number of studies, the small group of respondents,
might gain the ability to squirt. and the unclear conclusions.
Int Urogynecol J

Compliance with ethical standards 23. Belzer EG Jr. A review of female ejaculation and the Grafenberg
spot. Women Health. 1984;9:5–16.
Financial disclaimer/conflict of interest None. 24. Levin RJ, Wagner G. Human vaginal fluid-ionic composition and
modification by sexual arousal. J Physiol. 1977;266:62P–3P.
25. Levin RJ, Both S, Georgiadis J, Kukkonen T, Park K, Yang CC.
The physiology of female sexual function and the pathophysiology
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