Vaginal vs. Clitoral Orgasm: What's the Difference?

Female orgasms seems to be so mysterious they've been the subject of studies for ages. Can we just agree that at the end of the day they're all just awesome? Hello everyone, Amy here for DNews. Sexually speaking, women tend to be bit more complicated than men. Female arousal is heavily dependent on location, comfort, stress, and even more nebulous factors like relationship with a partner and contextual life. And many women still don't know exactly what gets them off. Is it direct clitoral stimulation? Friction from intercourse? A mixture of both? In order to understand a female orgasm, it helps to know the parts involved. First off, the part you can see on the outside is not the vagina. It's actually called the the vulva; the vagina is the canal inside the vulva. And then there's the clitoris. Most of us think of the clitoris as a small organ typically covered by a hood but it's actually so, so much more. The clitoris the metaphorical tip of the iceberg, the iceberg in this case being a system of nerves and muscles called the clitorourethrovaginal complex or CUV that surrounds the vagina and the urethra. Since there is an external and internal portion of this CUV complex, there are two types of orgasms women can experience: clitoral and vaginal.

The difference is just the means by which these nerves are stimulated; for clitoral orgasms it's the external part of the clitoris that is being stimulated. For a vaginal orgasm it's nerves inside the vagina that are being stimulated. Most women reach climax sooner from clitoral stimulation since this tiny external portion has more nerve endings than any other human body part, male or female, but at the end of the day it's all the same bundle of nerves and muscles. It's not entirely surprising that not everyone understands this distinction. The clitoris wasn't even scientifically ‘discovered' until the 1500's, and for centuries the body part was pretty much ignored. This was partially because of the taboo surrounding female sexuality, but also scientists didn't really see the value in having a clitoris, or a female orgasm at all. It's an orgasm that doesn't emit sperm so doesn't further the human race. So, they thought, what's the point of having or studying the female orgasm? In fact, the idea that a women could have different types of orgasms didn't arise until the early 1900's. Famed Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud argued that clitoral orgasms are inferior to vaginal orgasms because women can only fully realize their mature sexuality from a having intercourse with a man. Today we know that this is totally ridiculous, but still many women say clitoral and vaginal orgasms feel different, so why? And how? Well it may have something to do with blood flow. In a 2014 study, scientists observed women during clitoral and vaginal stimulation using ultrasounds.

The researchers found that while clitoral orgasms altered blood flow in the exterior clitoris, vaginal orgasms affected blood flow in the entire clitoral network, the CUV. These differences in blood flow were correlated to the change in sensation. But, vaginal or clitoral -- even male or female! -- all orgasms have largely the same effect on the body and brain. Orgasms occur when the muscles that were tightened during arousal finally relax. This happens through a series of rhythmic contractions. The feeling of ecstasy, bliss and sometimes a rush of emotion come from a release of hormones like dopamine oxytocin and prolactin in your brain. And scientists say this has major health benefits. Orgasms are said to reduce stress, improve sleep and lower blood pressure. So we should stop pigeonholing orgasms into just vaginal or clitoral and instead focus on the feelings they give us. In the end, they're all pretty great! So that's all about good sex. But what about when sex goes horribly, horribly wrong? You can check out the latest episode and all episodes of Sex Sent Me To The ER on the Discovery Life Go app.