Helen E. O'Connell AO is an Australian professor of urology and a pioneer in the anatomical study of the clitoris. She is a leading researcher in the area of female pelvic anatomy and was the first woman to complete training as a urologist in Australia.
O'Connell graduated from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree. [1] In 1994 she became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons as Australia's first female urological surgeon. [2] From 1994 to 1995, she moved to the United States for advanced training (a fellowship), [2] with neuro-urologist Edward J. McGuire in Houston, Texas. In 1997, she obtained a Master of Medicine degree [1] for a project on female urinary incontinence. In 2004, she graduated from the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Melbourne Private Hospital with a Doctor of Medicine [1] in the field of female pelvic anatomy.
O'Connell became the first female urologist in Australia in 1993. O'Connell's aim was to improve our knowledge of female pelvic anatomy, including the genitourinary tract with the reproductive organs, through insights from surgery.[ citation needed ] Her clinical and research focus is on the surgical treatment of lower urinary tract problems, particularly incontinence and bladder sphincter obstruction.[ citation needed ]
Since 2016, she has been director of the urology department of Western Health in the Australian state of Victoria.[ citation needed ]
In 1998, O'Connell published research results on the widely ramified deeper structure of the clitoris, [3] and in 2005, in the Journal of Urology , the article "Anatomy of the Clitoris". Multiplanar imaging of clitoral anatomy using magnetic resonance imaging in the living state supplemented the dissection material and showed that the erectile vestibular bulbs are a part of the clitoris, and that the female urethra and vagina, although not erectile in character, are closely related structures that form a tissue cluster with the clitoris that is the site of female sexual function and orgasm. [4] Among others, the science magazine New Scientist reported on the results of the investigation. [5] In 2010, O'Connell succeeded for the first time in depicting a stimulated clitoris in a 3D image and showing its more than 15,000 nerve endings in the pelvic area. [6] [7]
O'Connell has conducted several research projects on the female genital system. This has resulted in five publications in the form of articles, including her dissertation "Review of the Anatomy of Clitoris", defended in 2005.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, she was scientific advisor for the documentary film "The Clitoris, the Great Unknown", in which she also gave an interview. In the context, O'Connell referred to an anatomical textbook she used while studying in the 1980s. She said this impression became the motivation for her to focus on this area because there was no description of the clitoris in it, although there was a whole chapter on the mechanism of erection with information on the neuroanatomy and vascular nutrition of the penis, without ever mentioning the clitoris. Later as internship trainee in the surgery operating room, she noticed that special attention was paid to preserving sexual function during surgical procedures on men, while preserving sexual function during procedures on women seemed more incidental. She said there was no available manual on the nerves and blood supply to the clitoris. [8]
She was director of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons (RACS) between 2005 and 2014, and was elected director of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand from 2005 to 2010. She was chair of the RACS Surgical Research Board from 2007 to 2009. [2] [9] [10]
In 2019, she was appointed director of the International Continence Society meeting to be held in Melbourne in 2021. [11]
O'Connell was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to medical education, and to medicine, in the field of urology, as an academic and clinician, and to professional groups". [12]
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In amniotes, the clitoris is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female sexual pleasure. The clitoris is a complex structure, and its size and sensitivity can vary. The visible portion, the glans, of the clitoris is typically roughly the size and shape of a pea and is estimated to have at least 8,000 nerve endings.
Urology, also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary system and the reproductive organs. Organs under the domain of urology include the kidneys, adrenal glands, ureters, urinary bladder, urethra, and the male reproductive organs.
The urethra is the tube that transports urine from the mammalian urinary bladder to the urinary meatus in the glans penis or vulval vestibule. In placental mammals, the urethra also transports semen through the penis during ejaculation.
The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and physiologically. Anatomically, the prostate is found below the bladder, with the urethra passing through it. It is described in gross anatomy as consisting of lobes and in microanatomy by zone. It is surrounded by an elastic, fibromuscular capsule and contains glandular tissue, as well as connective tissue.
The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot, is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female ejaculation. It is typically reported to be located 5–8 cm (2–3 in) up the front (anterior) vaginal wall between the vaginal opening and the urethra and is a sensitive area that may be part of the female prostate.
Female ejaculation is characterized as an expulsion of fluid from the Skene's gland at the lower end of the urethra during or before an orgasm. It is also known colloquially as squirting or gushing, although research indicates that female ejaculation and squirting are different phenomena, squirting being attributed to a sudden expulsion of liquid that partly comes from the bladder and contains urine.
The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It is a mixed nerve and also conveys sympathetic autonomic fibers. It carries sensation from the external genitalia of both sexes and the skin around the anus and perineum, as well as the motor supply to various pelvic muscles, including the male or female external urethral sphincter and the external anal sphincter.
The pelvic floor or pelvic diaphragm is an anatomical location in the human body, which has an important role in urinary and anal continence, sexual function and support of the pelvic organs. The pelvic floor includes muscles, both skeletal and smooth, ligaments and fascia. and separates between the pelvic cavity from above, and the perineum from below. It is formed by the levator ani muscle and coccygeus muscle, and associated connective tissue.
Older texts have asserted the existence of a urogenital diaphragm, also called the triangular ligament, which was described as a layer of the pelvis that separates the deep perineal sac from the upper pelvis, lying between the inferior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm and superior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm.
The internal anal sphincter, IAS, or sphincter ani internus is a ring of smooth muscle that surrounds about 2.5–4.0 cm of the anal canal. It is about 5 mm thick, and is formed by an aggregation of the smooth (involuntary) circular muscle fibers of the rectum. It terminates distally about 6 mm from the anal orifice.
Stress incontinence, also known as stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or effort incontinence is a form of urinary incontinence. It is due to inadequate closure of the bladder outlet by the urethral sphincter.
The dorsal nerve of the clitoris is a nerve in females that branches off the pudendal nerve to innervate the clitoris. The nerve is important for female sexual pleasure, and it may play a role in clitoral erections.
Georg Ludwig Kobelt was a German anatomist. He studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg, where he was a student of Friedrich Tiedemann (1781–1861). He received his medical doctorate in 1833, later working as a prosector at Heidelberg. From 1841, he was a prosector at the University of Freiburg, subsequently becoming an associate professor (1844), followed by a full professorship in anatomy a few years later (1847).
The urethral sphincters are two muscles used to control the exit of urine in the urinary bladder through the urethra. The two muscles are either the male or female external urethral sphincter and the internal urethral sphincter. When either of these muscles contracts, the urethra is sealed shut.
The internal urethral sphincter is a urethral sphincter muscle which constricts the internal urethral orifice. It is located at the junction of the urethra with the urinary bladder and is continuous with the detrusor muscle, but anatomically and functionally fully independent from it. It is composed of smooth muscle, so it is under the control of the autonomic nervous system, specifically the sympathetic nervous system.
The mechanics of human sexuality or mechanics of sex, or more formally the biomechanics of human sexuality, is the study of the mechanics related to human sexual activity. Examples of topics include the biomechanical study of the strength of vaginal tissues and the biomechanics of male erectile function. The mechanics of sex under limit circumstances, such as sexual activity at zero-gravity in outer space, are also being studied.
William D. Steers was a Paul Mellon professor and chair of the Department of Urology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He was a president of the American Board of Urology (ABU) and editor of The Journal of Urology. In 2003, the University of Virginia awarded Steers the Hovey Dabney Professorship. In 2004, Dr. Steers initiated the Charlottesville Men's Four Miler road race to raise funds for men's health. Steers was a viticulturist, and co-owned Well Hung Vineyard in Charlottesville. He developed YOURometer, an iPhone app used to record urological related symptoms.
Jerry G. Blaivas is an American urologist and senior faculty at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and adjunct professor of Urology at SUNY Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn, as well as professor of clinical urology at College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University and clinical professor of Urology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He has four patents pending, has received four research grants for which he served as the principal investigator, and served as a major in the United States Army assigned to the Walson Army Hospital. He additionally served as president for the Urodynamic Society.
The vaginal support structures are those muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, membranes and fascia, of the pelvic floor that maintain the position of the vagina within the pelvic cavity and allow the normal functioning of the vagina and other reproductive structures in the female. Defects or injuries to these support structures in the pelvic floor leads to pelvic organ prolapse. Anatomical and congenital variations of vaginal support structures can predispose a woman to further dysfunction and prolapse later in life. The urethra is part of the anterior wall of the vagina and damage to the support structures there can lead to incontinence and urinary retention.
Kurt McCammon is a Professor and the Devine Chair in Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he has served as the Chairman for the Department of Urology since 2011, Program Director of the Department of Urology since 2006, and Fellowship Director for the Adult and Pediatric Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery since 2010. Additionally, he is the past president of the Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons, on the board of the International Volunteers in Urology, and a current member of the American Urological Association Board of Directors. As a reconstructive urologist, McCammon surgically addresses urethral stricture disease, male urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, female urinary incontinence, genital abnormalities, and other genitourinary issues.
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