When a science paper promises to be about "The Electrovaginogram: study of the vaginal electric activity and its role in the sexual act and disorders", you pretty much know you're about to read something very special indeed.
In explaining just why they're looking into this topic, the Cairo University scientists behind this research offer up one of the most intriguing scientific objectives I've ever heard:
We investigated the hypothesis that the vagina generates electric waves which effect vaginal contraction during penile thrusting.
I'll admit it - I was not familiar with this hypothesis. So then - and I hesitate to even ask - how did they go about testing this hypothesis of theirs?
In 24 healthy female volunteers, the electric waves of the vagina were recorded by two electrodes applied to its wall. The vaginal pressure was registered by a manometric tube. The electric waves and vaginal pressure were recorded at rest and on vaginal distension by condom in increments of 10 ml of carbon dioxide. The test was repeated after vaginal anesthetization proximally and distally to the electrodes.
Honestly, that's actually a lot more scientific-sounding than I had feared, considering this entire experiment could double as the setup to a very dirty joke. Well, we've come this far...let's see their conclusions:
"Electric waves could be recorded from the vagina. They spread caudad. A pacemaker was postulated to exist at the upper vagina evoking these waves. The electric waves seem to be responsible for the vaginal contractile activity. Large-volume vaginal distension effected an increase in the vaginal electric waves and pressure which probably denotes increased vaginal muscle contraction. It appears that penile thrusting during coitus stimulates the vaginal pacemaker which effects an increase in vaginal electric activity and muscle contractility and thus leading to an increase in sexual arousal. The vaginal pacemaker seems to represent the G spot, which is claimed to be a small area of erotic sensitivity in the vagina. The electrovaginogram may act as a diagnostic tool in the investigation of sexual disorders."
If electrovaginogram isn't the 2010 word of the year - hell, if it doesn't become the official word of the 21st century - then there's something deeply wrong with all of us.
[via NCBI ROFL]