Urethral sounding: why some people find it pleasurable to insert objects into their urinary tube

• In case you’re wondering, the human urethra is a tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside the body.
• Some people find it sexually pleasurable to insert objects – known as sounds, which are typically small glass or metal rods – or even fluid into the urethra.
• Many objects have been used for sounding, however, and that’s one of the reasons the practice is so hazardous.
• The urethra is a narrow outflow tube, usually less than 9mm wide, so squeezing objects into it isn’t usually recommended.
• Megalouretha can lead to retention of objects in the urethra or bladder from clinical examinations such as cervical screening.

Risky business

• It takes several turns to pass through the pelvic floor muscles, prostate and then, if inserted far enough, the bladder.
• Urethral damage exposes the underlying connective tissues which can cause blood in the urine, as well as erectile dysfunction and even bladder rupture.
• Trauma and damage may lead to further narrowing of the urethra in later life which may require medical intervention.

Sounds painful

• But sounding can be highly sexually gratifying for some people.
• The arousal and subsequent stimulation of the erectile tissue of the penis and clitoris usually occurs through one of two mechanisms: psychogenic (images or thoughts) or reflexogenic (touching).
• The reflexogenic pathway is served by nerves which also innervate the lining of the urethra – the dorsal nerve(s) of the penis or clitoris.

Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.