Copulatory Behaviour - Anatomy & Physiology

BACK TO REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM BACK TO REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR

Species	Ram	Bull	Stallion	Boar
Duration of Copulation	1-2 seconds (1 Pelvic Thrust with Foreleg Clasp)	1-3 seconds (1 Pelvic Thrust with Foreleg Clasp)	20-60 seconds (Multiple Pelvic Thrusts,Flagging,Followed by Innactive Phase)	5-20 minutes (Rapid Pelvic Thrusting to Engage Penis in Cervix) When Penis is Engaged,Thrusting Stops and Ejaculation Commences.	Roaming around Territory	Prowling
Volume of Ejaculate	Approach Sexually Active group of Females,Test for Lordosis,Flehmen	Visual Search,Flehmen	Sniffing & Licking of Ano-Genital Region,Nudging Ewe,Flehmen	Moving among Females	Roaming around Territory	Prowling
Site of Semen Deposition	Approach Sexually Active group of Females,Test for Lordosis,Flehmen	Visual Search,Flehmen	Sniffing & Licking of Ano-Genital Region,Nudging Ewe,Flehmen	Moving among Females	Roaming around Territory	Prowling
Average Numbers of Ejaculations to Satiation	Approach Sexually Active group of Females,Test for Lordosis,Flehmen	Visual Search,Flehmen	Sniffing & Licking of Ano-Genital Region,Nudging Ewe,Flehmen	Moving among Females	Roaming around Territory	Prowling
Maximum Number of Ejaculations to Exaustion	Approach Sexually Active group of Females,Test for Lordosis,Flehmen	Visual Search,Flehmen	Sniffing & Licking of Ano-Genital Region,Nudging Ewe,Flehmen	Moving among Females	Roaming around Territory	Prowling

Mounting

• Elevation of the front legs of the male to straddle the posterior region of the female.
• Learned behaviour

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Intromission

• Successful entrance of the penis into the vagina.

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Ejaculation

• The reflex expulsion of spermatozoa and seminal plasma from the male reproductive tract.
• Sensory stimulation, primarily to the glans penis causes a series of coordinated muscular contractions.
• Once intromission has been achieved, reflex impulses are initiated.
  • Neural impulses derived mainly from sensory nerves in the glans penis.
• Upon threshold stimulation, impulses are transmitted from the glans peinis by the internal pudendal nerve to the lumbosacral region of the spinal cord.
• Sensory impulses result in firing of nerves in the spinal cord.
• Forcing of semen into the urethra by nerves in the hypogastric plexus innervating target muscles.
  • Urethralis muscle
  • Ischiocavernosus muscle
  • Bulbospongiosus muscle
• Emission and ejaculation
  • Emission is the movement of seminal fluids from the accessory sex glands into the pelvic urethra so that they can mix with spermatozoa.
  • Emission occurs before and during ejaculation.

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