MRI proves that Leonardo da Vinci got sexual anatomy wrong

Ever since Leonardo da Vinci drew the anatomy of human copulation, anatomists have wondered how male and female genitals interact. Schultz et al solved the issue by performing magnetic resonance imaging on couples during intercourse (p 1596). During intercourse in the "missionary position" the penis is not straight, as drawn by da Vinci, nor S shaped, as envisaged by Dickinson, but boomerang shaped. During arousal the female uterus was raised and the anterior vaginal wall lengthened but, contrary to the findings of Masters and Johnson, the uterus was not enlarged.


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Relevant Article

Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals during coitus and female sexual arousal
Willibrord Weijmar Schultz, Pek van Andel, Ida Sabelis, and Eduard Mooyaart
BMJ 1999 319: 1596-1600. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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