Pap
Test:
A procedure used to
examine the cells of the cervix. It can detect precancerous
and cancerous cells. Cells scraped from the cervix epithelium
are smeared, fixed, stained and examined microscopically.
Also called a Papanicolaou test. (pap'-a-NIK-o-la-oo).
Paraphilia:
A sex practice that becomes necessary for sexual arousal
but that is not approved by social norms.
Parental
Consent:
Requirement that one or both parents give written permission
for a minor child to enter into a legal contract and in
many situations give consent for medical procedures. This
age may vary from state to state in the USA.
Pedophilia:
A paraphilia in which sexual arousal for an adult becomes
dependent on having sexual contact or fantasies of sexual
contact with a child.
Peer
Pressure:
The efforts of a group of equals to maintain conformity
to the group's social norms.
Pelvic
Exam:
Physical examination of the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus,
and ovaries (usually includes taking cervical cells for
a Pap test and a manual exam of the internal pelvic organs).
Pelvic
Girdle:
A bony and muscular structure inside a woman's body that
supports her internal sex and reproductive organs.
Penis:
The male reproductive organ, used to introduce sperm into
the vagina. A man's sex organ that is formed of spongy tissue
and fills with blood during sexual excitement, a process
known as erection. Urine and seminal fluid pass through
the penis.
Performance
Anxiety:
A common sexual problem in which the anxiety about engaging
in sexual activity becomes an overriding block to the spontaneous
flow of sexual feelings and thoughts.
Perimenopause:
The period of change leading to menopause.
Period:
The days during menstruation.
Periodic
Abstinence:
Not having vaginal intercourse during the "unsafe days"
of a woman's fertile phase in order to prevent pregnancy.
Peyronie's
Disease:
A condition caused by the formation of hard plaque on one
on the upper or lower side of the penis in layers containing
erectile tissue. The local inflammation eventually develops
into a full scar. This scar tissue is hard and inflexible,
and causes the penis to bend when erect.
Pheromones:
Odors given off by animals (including humans) that attract
the other gender.
Pictophilia:
A paraphilia in which sexual arousal becomes dependent on
viewing pornographic pictures, movies, or videos with or
without a partner.
PID
(Pelvic Inflammatory
Disease):
Collective
term for any extensive bacterial infection of the pelvic
organs, especially the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.
An infection
of a woman's internal reproductive organs that can lead
to infertility and sometimes chronic pain. It is often caused
by sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea
and chlamydia.
PID is a leading cause of infertility in the United States.
PID can be treated, but needs to be found early by a gynecologist.
Pill,
The:
Common expression for oral contraception.
Plateau:
The stage
of sexual arousal in which a person has been sexually
excited and may approach orgasm. The third stage of the
sexual response cycle.
Polygamy:
Having more than one spouse.
Pornography:
From a definition standpoint, pornography is anything that
is created to cause sexual excitement or arousal. Most of
us think of: erotic imagery that is considered obscene and
offensive.
Porn:
Short for pornography.
Pre-Ejaculate:
The liquid that seeps out of the penis during sexual excitement
before ejaculation; produced by the Cowper's glands, it
is an alkaline fluid that helps with lubrication.
Pre-Embryo:
The ball of cells that develops from the fertilized egg
until after about nine days when it attaches to the lining
of the uterus and the embryo is formed.
Pregnancy:
A sequence of events that
normally includes fertilization, implantation, embryonic
growth, and fetal growth that ends in birth. See Pregnancy Articles.
Premarital
Sex:
Sexual intercourse between people before marriage.
Premature
Ejaculation:
Ejaculation
occurring before a man wants it to occur.
Premenstrual
Syndrome:
Severe physical and emotional stress occurring late in the
postovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle, sometimes overlapping
with menstruation. See PMS
for more.
Prepuce:
The loose-fitting skin covering the glans of the penis and
clitoris. Also called the foreskin.
Priapism:
A continuous partial erection without sexual stimulation
that is caused by dysfunctional blood flow into the corpus
cavernosa.
Primary
Sex Characteristics:
The body organs and reproductive structures and functions
that differ between women and men. The differences include
the external and internal sex and reproductive organs. It
also includes a woman's ability to produce eggs and a man's
ability to produce sperm.
Pro-Choice:
The belief that women have the right to choose to have an
abortion.
Progestasert
®:
An IUD containing
natural hormones that must be replaced every year.
Progesterone:
A hormone produced in the ovaries of women that is important
in puberty, menstruation, and pregnancy.
Progestin:
A synthetic progesterone.
Prophylactic:
A device used to prevent infection; the condom.
Prostate:
A doughnut-shaped gland below the urinary bladder that surrounds
the upper portion of the male urethra and secretes a solution
that contributes to sperm motility and viability.
Prostatitis:
An enlargement and inflammation of the prostate gland that
results in a dull persistent pain in the lower back, testes,
scrotum, and glans of the penis. There may also be a thin
mucus discharge from the penis, especially in the morning.
Not to be confused with Urethritis.
Prostitution:
The performance of sexual acts for money.
Pruritus:
Itching
Psychology:
The study of the mind and its processes.
Puberty:
A time in life when a girl is becoming a woman and a boy
is becoming a man. Puberty
is marked by physical changes of the body such as breast
development and menstruation in girls
and facial hair growth and ejaculation in boys.
See puberty
and the puberty charts for guys
and girls.
Pubic
Hair:
Hair that grows in the genital area of women and men. Pubic
hair is a secondary sex characteristic appearing at puberty.
Pubic
Lice:
Tiny insects that can be sexually transmitted. They live
in pubic hair and cause intense itching in the genitals
or anus.
