erogenous zone

Specific zones are associated with sexual response, and include the lips and nipples in addition to areas of the genitals, notably corona of the glans penis, clitoris and perianal skin.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} These zones have a high density of innervation, and may have an efficiency of wound healing and a capacity to stimulate generalized cerebral arousal.{{cite journal |last1=Schober |first1=Justine |last2=Weil |first2=Zachary |last3=Pfaff |first3=Donald |author-link3=Donald W. Pfaff |year=2011 |title=How generalized CNS arousal strengthens sexual arousal (and vice versa) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0018506X10002588 |journal=Hormones and Behavior |volume=59 |issue=5 |pages=689–695 |doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.10.005 |issn=0018-506X |oclc=728020042 |pmid=20950622 |s2cid=27082147|url-access=subscription }}

In these zones, the skin is similar to normal-haired skin and has the normal high density of nerves and hair follicles. These areas include the sides and back of the neck, the inner arms, the axillae (armpits) and sides of the thorax (chest).{{Citation needed|date = February 2017}}

For males, erogenous zones consist of the glans and the penis itself, along with the scrotum, the perineum, and the anus.{{cite journal |last1=Schober |first1=Justine M. |last2=Meyer-Bahlburg |first2=Heino F.L. |author-link2=Heino Meyer-Bahlburg |last3=Dolezal |first3=Curtis |date=2009 |title=Self-ratings of genital anatomy, sexual sensitivity and function in men using the 'Self-Assessment of Genital Anatomy and Sexual Function, Male' questionnaire |url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2008.08166.x |journal=BJU Int |volume=103 |issue=8 |pages=1096–103 |doi=10.1111/j.1464-410X.2008.08166.x |issn=1464-4096 |oclc=5151511138 |pmc= |pmid=19245445 |s2cid=38304794|url-access=subscription }}

Males may also experience sexual stimulation via the prostate, either from anal sex or massage.

For females, parts of the vulva, especially the clitoris, as well as the perineum and anus, are erogenous zones.{{cite journal |vauthors=O'Connell HE, Sanjeevan KV, Hutson JM |s2cid=26109805 |title=Anatomy of the clitoris |journal=The Journal of Urology |volume=174 |issue=4 Pt 1 |pages=1189–95 |date=October 2005 |pmid=16145367 |doi=10.1097/01.ju.0000173639.38898.cd}}

• {{cite news |author=Sharon Mascall |date=June 11, 2006 |title=Time for rethink on the clitoris |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5013866.stm}}{{cite book|title=Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century|isbn =978-1-111-18663-0|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2011|page=386|access-date=5 January 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGu96TeAZo0C&pg=PT423|author1=Wayne Weiten |author2=Dana S. Dunn |author3=Elizabeth Yost Hammer }}{{cite book|title=Sex and Society, Volume 2|isbn =978-0761479079|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|year=2009|page=590|access-date=17 August 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YtsxeWE7VD0C&pg=PA590|author=Marshall Cavendish Corporation}}{{cite journal | author= Winkelmann RK | title= The erogenous zones: their nerve supply and significance | journal= Mayo Clin Proc | date= 1959 | volume= 34 | issue= 2 | pages= 39–47 | url= http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/winkelmann/ | doi= | pmid= 13645790 | pmc= }}{{cite book|last=Green|first=Andre|title=Psychoanalysis: A Paradigm for Clinical Thinking|publisher=Free Association Books|page=102|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sg1HAAAAMAAJ|isbn=978-1-85343-773-1}}

While the vagina is not especially sensitive as a whole, its lower third (the area close to the entrance) has concentrations of the nerve endings that can provide pleasurable sensations during sexual activity when stimulated; this is also called the anterior wall of the vagina or the outer one-third of the vagina, and it contains the majority of the vaginal nerve endings, making it more sensitive to touch than the inner two-thirds of the vaginal barrel.{{cite book|vauthors=Greenberg JS, Bruess CE, Oswalt SB |title=Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality|pages=102–104|isbn=978-1449648510|date=2014|access-date=30 October 2014|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hm3aTuANFroC&pg=PA102}}{{cite book|vauthors=Bullough VL, Bullough B|title=Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|access-date=30 October 2014|pages=229–231|isbn=978-1135825096|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHymAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA229}}

Within the anterior wall of the vagina, there is a patch of ribbed rough tissue which has a texture that is sometimes described as similar to the palate (the roof of a mouth) or a raspberry, and may feel spongy when a woman is sexually aroused. This is the urethral sponge, which may also be the location of an area that some women report is an erogenous zone; this is sometimes called the G-spot. When stimulated, it may lead to sexual arousal, an orgasm, or female ejaculation.{{cite book |first=Martha |last= Rosenthal| title = Human Sexuality: From Cells to Society | publisher =Cengage Learning|year = 2012|access-date=25 January 2014|page=76| isbn = 978-0618755714|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT96}} The existence of the G-spot and whether or not it is a distinct structure is debated among researchers, as reports of its location vary from woman to woman, it appears to be nonexistent in some women, and scientists commonly believe that it is an extension of the clitoris.{{cite book|vauthors=Balon R, Segraves RT |title=Clinical Manual of Sexual Disorders |publisher= American Psychiatric Pub|year=2009|access-date=24 January 2014|page=258|isbn=978-1585629053|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuP3Hb0TMLQC&pg=PA258}}See [https://books.google.com/books?id=amNcvrLCGZEC&pg=PT98 page 98] for the 2009 King's College London's findings on the G-spot and [https://books.google.com/books?id=kP9bCflZpVkC&pg=PA145 page 145] for ultrasound/physiological material with regard to the G-spot.{{cite book|author=Ashton Acton|title=Issues in Sexuality and Sexual Behavior Research: 2011 Edition|publisher=ScholarlyEditions|year=2012|access-date=24 January 2014|isbn=978-1464966873|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=amNcvrLCGZEC}}{{cite journal|vauthors=Kilchevsky A, Vardi Y, Lowenstein L, Gruenwald I|title=Is the Female G-Spot Truly a Distinct Anatomic Entity?|journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine|volume= 9|issue= 3|pages= 719–26|date=January 2012|pmid=22240236|doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02623.x}}{{cite news|date=January 19, 2012 |title=G-Spot Does Not Exist, 'Without A Doubt,' Say Researchers |work=The Huffington Post |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/g-spot-does-not-exist_n_1215822.html}}

The lips and tongue are sensitive and can be stimulated by kissing and licking. Biting at the lip can also provide stimulus.

The neck, clavicle area and the back of the neck are very sensitive, and can be stimulated by licking, kissing or light caressing. Some people also like being bitten gently in these areas, often to the point that a "hickey", or "love-bite" is formed.

Some people find whispering or breathing softly in the ear to be pleasurable and relaxing, as well as licking, biting, caressing and/or kissing it especially the area of and behind the earlobe.

The areola and nipple contain Golgi-Mazzoni, Vater-Pacini, and genital corpuscles. No Meissner's corpuscles and few organized nerve endings are present.{{cite journal |author=Winkelmann RK |date=1959 |title=The erogenous zones: their nerve supply and significance |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/winkelmann/ |journal=Mayo Clin Proc |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=39–47 |doi= |pmc= |pmid=13645790}} There are concentrations of nerve tissue in the area of ducts and masses of smooth muscle. The hair surrounding the areola adds additional sensory tissue. The mass of smooth muscle and glandular-duct tissue in the nipple and areola block the development of normal dermal nerve networks which are present in other erogenous regions and the development of special end organs. The entire breast has a network of nerve endings, and it has the same number of nerve endings no matter how large the breast is, so that larger breasts may need more stimulation than smaller ones.

Intense nipple stimulation may result in a surge in the production of oxytocin and prolactin which could have a significant effect on the individual's genitals, even to the point that some people of both sexes can achieve orgasm through nipple stimulation alone. Having the chest, breasts and nipples stimulated manually (hands, fingers) or orally (mouth, lips, teeth, tongue) is a pleasurable experience for many people of both sexes.

{{Main article|Navel fetishism|Alvinolagnia}}

Many people find stimulation (kissing, biting, scratching, tickling, caressing) of the abdomen to be pleasurable, especially close to the pubic region. It can cause strong arousal in men and women, in some even stronger than stimulation of the genitals. The navel is one of the many erogenous zones that has heightened sensitivity.[https://books.google.com/books?id=uHIsvrnnvPkC&q=foreplay+navel A celebration of sex – Douglas E. Rosenau – Chapter 3 – Your Erogenous Zones ]. In a 1982 study of eroticism in dress entitled "Skin to Skin", Prudence Glynn claimed that the waist symbolized virginity and that it was the first place that a man would touch a woman "when indicating more than a formal courtesy".{{cite news|last=Suzy Menkes|title=RUNWAYS; Naked Came The Midriff|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/29/style/runways-naked-came-the-midriff.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm|access-date=20 March 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 May 1994}}{{cite book|last=Prudence Glynn|title=Skin to skin: eroticism in dress|year=1982|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195203917|pages=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNTfAAAAMAAJ&q=waist}}

The navel and the region below when touched by the finger or the tip of the tongue result in the production of erotic sensations.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ngakMuLJO7wC&q=Navel&pg=PA145 Touch Me There!: A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots – Yvonne K. Fulbright].

The skin of the arms, and specifically the softer skin of the inner arms and across the creased mid-arm bend covering the ventral side of the elbow, are highly sensitive to manual or oral stimulation. Caressing with fingers or tongue, more vigorous kneading, and butterfly kissing can initiate arousal and, in some cases, induce clitoral/vaginal orgasm or penile ejaculation without direct contact with the latter areas.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} The mid-arm bend is especially sensitive due to the thinner skin found there, which makes nerve endings more accessible. {{citation needed|date=February 2016}} Arm sensitivity may be reduced or concentrated to a more narrow range by excessive muscularity or obesity on the one hand, or transformed to uncomfortable tenderness by excessive thinness on the other.

{{Main article|Armpit fetishism}}

Some consider the armpits to be an erogenous zone, despite the similarity of the axillae (armpits) to normal-haired skin in both the density of nerves and hair follicles. Exaggerated or anticipated digital (fingers, toes) or oral (mouth, lips, tongue) stimulation is believed to be responsible for the heightened sensual response.

If pheromones exist for humans, they would likely be secreted by a mixture of liquid from the apocrine glands with other organic compounds in the body. George Preti, an organic chemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and Winnefred Cutler of the University of Pennsylvania's psychology department, discovered that women with irregular menstrual cycles became regular when exposed to male underarm extracts.{{cite news |last1=Delude |first1=Cathryn |title=Looking for love potion number nine |url=http://www.boston.com/yourlife/relationships/articles/2003/09/02/looking_for_love_potion_number_nine/ |publisher=The Boston Globe |date=2003-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215258/http://www.boston.com/yourlife/relationships/articles/2003/09/02/looking_for_love_potion_number_nine/ |archive-date=2016-03-03}} They hypothesized that the only explanation was that underarms contain pheromones, as there was no other explanation for the effects, which mirrored how pheromones affect other mammals.

The fingertips have many nerves and are responsive to very light touches, like the brushing of a tongue, light fingernail scratching or teeth stroking. The sides of the fingers are somewhat less sensitive and more ticklish.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Both light and firmer touches work well at the junction of the fingers. Human fingertips are the second-most sensitive parts of the body, after the tongue.

The thighs can be sensitive to touch.

An exaggerated tickle on the back of the legs and knees can also be sensitive for some.

{{Main article|Foot fetishism}}

Because of the concentration of nerve endings in the sole and digits of the human foot—and possibly due to the close proximity between the area of the brain dealing with tactile sensations from the feet and the area dealing with sensations from the genitals—the sensations produced by both the licking of the feet and sucking of toes can be pleasurable to some people. Similarly, massaging the sole of the foot can also produce stimulation. Many people are extremely ticklish in the foot area, especially on the soles.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

{{Portal|Human sexuality}}

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• {{cite journal | last1 = Winkelmann | first1 = RK. | year = 1959 | title = Erogenous zones: their nerve supply and significance | url = http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/winkelmann/ | journal = Mayo Clin Proc | volume = 34 | issue = 2| pages = 39–47 }}

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Category:Human sexuality

Category:Sexual arousal

Category:Human surface anatomy