Neurologic control of prostatic secretion in the dog.

A model to record the volume of prostatic secretion was developed. The influence of both divisions of the autonomic nervous system on the prostate by pharmacologic stimulation and blockade, and by direct electrical nerve stimulation was observed. The prostate responded to parasympathetic stimulus by increasing secretion. Under sympathetic stimulation, the secretion collected in the acini and ducts was expulsed into the urethra by contraction of the smooth muscle fibers surrounding these structures. A correlation between these findings and the normal sexual function may be made: Early in the excitation phase there is parasympathetic activity with increased secretion. With onset of orgasm and emission, sympathetic activity initiates the contractile activity of the genital duct system and the prostatic muscular element. As a result, the secretion is transported to the prostatic urethra (emission) to be later ejaculated by the genital skeletal musculature of the perineum, mainly the ischiocavernosus and bulbospongiosus.