Bulbospongiosus

Looks like

A strap of muscle over the bulb: in women the vestibular bulb each side of the vaginal opening, in men the bulb of the penis.

What it does

Squeezes the bulb in arousal and orgasm and empties the urethra — the last drops of urine, and in men the semen.

Keeping it well

Pelvic-floor exercises help dribbling after urination in men; in women it is one of the muscles that tighten involuntarily in vaginismus.

Related conditions

• Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
• Botulism
• Chronic constipation
• Fibromyalgia
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Heat exhaustion & heatstroke
• Malnutrition & refeeding syndrome
• Muscular dystrophy
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Prostatitis & pelvic pain
• Rectal prolapse
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Sarcoma
• Sarcopenia
• Tetanus