Human anus in the context of Defecate

Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the erect male penis inside the female vagina and followed by thrusting motions for sexual pleasure, reproduction, or both. This is also known as vaginal intercourse or vaginal sex. Sexual penetration is an instinctive form of sexual behaviour and psychology among humans. Other forms of penetrative sexual intercourse include anal sex (penetration of the anus by the penis), oral sex (penetration of the mouth by the penis or oral penetration of the female genitalia), fingering (sexual penetration by the fingers) and penetration by use of a dildo (especially a strap-on dildo), and vibrators. These activities involve physical intimacy between two or more people and are usually used among humans solely for physical or emotional pleasure. They can contribute to human bonding.

There are different views on what constitutes sexual intercourse or other sexual activity, which can impact views of sexual health. Although sexual intercourse, particularly the term coitus, generally denotes penile–vaginal penetration and the possibility of creating offspring, it also commonly denotes penetrative oral sex and penile–anal sex, especially the latter. It usually encompasses sexual penetration, while non-penetrative sex has been labeled outercourse, but non-penetrative sex may also be considered sexual intercourse. Sex, often a shorthand for sexual intercourse, can mean any form of sexual activity. Because people can be at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections during these activities, safer sex practices are recommended by health professionals to reduce transmission risk.

Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vulva while fellatio is oral sex performed on the penis. Anilingus, another form of oral sex, is oral stimulation of the anus.

Oral sex may be performed as foreplay to incite sexual arousal before other sexual activities (such as vaginal or anal intercourse), or as an erotic and physically intimate act in its own right. Like most forms of sexual activity, oral sex can pose a risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, the transmission risk for oral sex, especially HIV transmission, is significantly lower than for vaginal or anal sex.

Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure. Other forms of anal sex include anal fingering, the use of sex toys, anilingus, and pegging. Although anal sex most commonly means penile–anal penetration, sources sometimes use anal intercourse to exclusively denote penile–anal penetration, and anal sex to denote any form of anal sexual activity, especially between pairings as opposed to anal masturbation.

While anal sex is commonly associated with male homosexuality, research shows that not all homosexual men engage in anal sex and that it is not uncommon in heterosexual relationships. Types of anal sex can also be part of lesbian sexual practices. People may experience pleasure from anal sex by stimulation of the anal nerve endings, and orgasm may be achieved through anal penetration – by indirect stimulation of the prostate in men, indirect stimulation of the clitoris or an area in the vagina (sometimes called the G-spot) in women, and other sensory nerves (especially the pudendal nerve). People may also find anal sex painful, sometimes extremely so, which may be due to psychological factors in some cases.

Hair removal is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair. This process is also known as epilation or depilation.

Hair is a common feature of the human body, exhibiting considerable variation in thickness and length across different populations. Hair becomes more visible during and after puberty. Additionally, men typically exhibit thicker and more conspicuous body hair than women.Both males and females have visible body hair on the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits, genital area, arms, and legs. Males and some females may also have thicker hair growth on their face, abdomen, back, buttocks, anus, areola, chest, nostrils, and ears. Hair does not generally grow on the lips, back of the ear, the underside of the hands or feet, or on certain areas of the genitalia.

Human feces (American English) or faeces (British English), commonly and in medical literature more often called stool, are the solid or semisolid remains of food that could not be digested or absorbed in the small intestine of humans, but has been further broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. It also contains bacteria and a relatively small amount of metabolic waste products such as bacterially altered bilirubin, and the dead epithelial cells from the lining of the gut. It is discharged through the anus during a process called defecation.

Human feces has similarities to the feces of other animals and varies significantly in appearance (i.e. size, color, texture), according to the state of the diet, digestive system, and general health. Normally, human feces are semisolid, with a mucus coating. Small pieces of harder, less moist feces can sometimes be seen impacted in the distal (final or lower) end. This is a normal occurrence when a prior bowel movement is incomplete, and feces are returned from the rectum to the large intestine, where water is further absorbed.

Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater from toilets. Sources of greywater include sinks, showers, baths, washing machines or dishwashers. As greywater contains fewer pathogens than blackwater, it is generally safer to handle and easier to treat and reuse onsite for toilet flushing, landscape or crop irrigation, and other non-potable uses. Greywater may still have some pathogen content from laundering soiled clothing or cleaning the anal area in the shower or bath.

The application of greywater reuse in urban water systems provides substantial benefits for both the water supply subsystem, by reducing the demand for fresh clean water, and the wastewater subsystems by reducing the amount of conveyed and treated wastewater. Treated greywater has many uses, such as toilet flushing or irrigation.

Toilet paper, (also referred to as toilet/bath/bathroom tissue or toilet roll) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding region of feces (after defecation), and to clean the external genitalia and perineal area of urine (after urination).

It is commonly supplied as a long strip of perforated paper wrapped around a cylindrical paperboard core, for storage in a dispenser within arm's reach of a toilet. The bundle, or roll of toilet paper, is specifically known as a toilet roll, loo roll, or bog roll (in Britain).

A bidet (UK: /ˈbiːdeɪ/, US: /bɪˈdeɪ/ ) is a bowl or receptacle designed to be sat upon in order to wash a person's genitalia, perineum, inner buttocks, and anus. The modern variety has a plumbed-in water supply and a drainage opening, and is thus a plumbing fixture subject to local hygiene regulations. The bidet is designed to promote personal hygiene and is used after defecation, and before and after sexual intercourse. It can also be used to wash feet, with or without filling it up with water. Some people even use bidets to bathe babies or pets. In several European countries, a bidet is now required by law to be present in every bathroom containing a toilet bowl. It was originally located in the bedroom, near the chamber-pot and the marital bed, but in modern times is located near the toilet bowl in the bathroom. Fixtures that combine a toilet seat with a washing facility include the electronic bidet.

Opinions as to the necessity of the bidet vary widely over different nationalities and cultures. In cultures that use it habitually, such as parts of Western, Central and Southeastern Europe (especially Italy, Portugal, Spain, France and Turkey), Eastern Asia and some Latin American countries such as Argentina, Uruguay or Paraguay, it is considered an indispensable tool in maintaining good personal hygiene. It is commonly used in North African countries, such as Egypt. It is rarely used in sub-Saharan Africa, Northwestern Europe, Australia, and North America.

Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion and is the necessary biological process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces (or faeces) from the digestive tract via the anus or cloaca. The act has a variety of names, ranging from the technical (e.g. bowel movement), to the common (like pooping or crapping), to the obscene (shitting), to the euphemistic ("doing number two", "dropping a deuce" or "taking a dump"), to the juvenile ("going poo-poo" or "making doo-doo"). The topic, usually avoided in polite company, forms the basis of scatological humor.

Humans expel feces with a frequency varying from a few times daily to a few times weekly. Waves of muscular contraction (known as peristalsis) in the walls of the colon move fecal matter through the digestive tract towards the rectum. Flatus may also be expulsed. Undigested food may also be expelled within the feces, in a process called egestion. When birds defecate, they also expel urine and urates in the same mass, whereas other animals may also simultaneously urinate during defecation, but the processes are spatially separated. Defecation may also accompany childbirth and death. Babies defecate a unique substance called meconium prior to eating external foods.

Anal hygiene refers to practices (anal cleansing) that are performed on the anus to maintain personal hygiene, usually immediately or shortly after defecation. Anal cleansing may also occur while showering or bathing. Post-defecation cleansing is rarely discussed academically, partly due to the social taboo surrounding it. The scientific objective of post-defecation cleansing is to prevent exposure to pathogens.

The process of post-defecation cleansing often involves washing the anus and inner part of the buttocks with water. Water-based cleansing typically involves either the use of running water from a handheld vessel and a hand for washing or the use of pressurized water through a jet device, such as a bidet. In either method, subsequent hand sanitization is essential to achieve the ultimate objectives of post-defecation cleansing. However, many people throughout history have instead wiped or scrubbed the area, most commonly in modern history with toilet paper.

Safe sex is sexual activity using protective methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. The terms safer sex and protected sex are sometimes preferred, to indicate that even highly effective prevention practices do not completely eliminate all possible risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks.

The concept of safe sex emerged in the 1980s as a response to the global AIDS epidemic, and possibly more specifically to the AIDS crisis in the United States. Promoting safe sex is now one of the main aims of sex education and STI prevention, especially reducing new HIV infections. Safe sex is regarded as a harm reduction strategy aimed at reducing the risk of STI transmission.

Fingering is sexual stimulation of the vulva (including the clitoris) or vagina by using the fingers. Vaginal fingering is legally and medically called digital penetration or digital penetration of the vagina. The term "digital" takes its significance from the English word 'digit', which refers to a finger, thumb, or toe. Fingering may also include the use of fingers to stimulate the anus.When someone performs fingering on another person's vulva or vagina, it is a form of manual sex, and is analogous to a handjob (manual stimulation of the penis). It may be used for sexual arousal or foreplay, constitute an entire sexual encounter, or be used as non-penetrative sexual activity. Fingering performed on one's own vulva or vagina is a form of masturbation.

A vibrator, sometimes described as a massager, is a sex toy that is used on the body to produce pleasurable sexual stimulation. There are many different shapes and models of vibrators. Most modern vibrators contain an electric-powered device that pulsates or throbs. Vibrators can be used for both solo play and partnered play by one or more people. Devices exist to be used by couples to stimulate the genitals of both partners. They can be applied to erogenous zones – such as the vulva, vagina, penis, scrotum, anus, or rectum – for sexual stimulation, for the release of sexual frustration, and to achieve orgasm. Vibrators may be recommended by sex therapists for women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through masturbation or intercourse.

Anilingus (also spelled analingus) is an oral and anal sex act (anal–oral contact or anal–oral sex) in which one person stimulates the anus of another by using their tongue or lips.

The anus has a relatively high concentration of nerve endings and can be an erogenous zone, and so the recipient may receive pleasure from external anal stimulation, whereas pleasure for the giver is usually based more on the principle of the act. People may engage in anilingus for its own sake, before anal penetration, or as part of foreplay. All sexual orientations may participate in the act. Studies confirm anilingus to be one of the sexual practices between women, though only practiced by a minority.

Pegging is an anal sex act in which a woman penetrates a man's anus with a strap-on dildo. The term was popularised by Dan Savage in 2001 to describe a practice that predates the term. Pegging has become more visible in the 21st century through sex education, feminist and queer theory, and mainstream media. Discussions about pegging often deal with gender roles, power dynamics, sexual stigma, and masculinity.

Anal masturbation is an autoerotic practice in which a person masturbates by sexually stimulating their own anus and rectum. Common methods of anal masturbation include manual stimulation of the anal opening and the insertion of an object or objects. Items inserted may be sex toys such as anal beads, butt plugs, dildos, vibrators, rectal thermometers or specially designed prostate massagers or enemas.

The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It is a mixed (motor and sensory) 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.

If damaged, most commonly by childbirth, loss of sensation or fecal incontinence may result. The nerve may be temporarily anesthetized, called pudendal anesthesia or pudendal block.

The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions.

Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, while at the back the material is reduced to a minimum. Thongs are almost always designed to cover the genitals, anus, and perineum and leave part or most of the buttocks uncovered. The back of the garment typically consists of a thin waistband and a thin strip of material, designed to be worn between the buttocks, that connects the middle of the waistband with the bottom front of the garment. It is also used as a descriptive term in other types of garment, such as a bodysuit, bodystocking, leotard, or one-piece swimsuit, with the meaning "thong-backed".