The size of a pea, one of the female body’s smallest organs, the clitoris has got a lot going on. Some of which you probably never knew! Here’s everything you should know about the female pleasure centre.

I want you to travel back through the haze of giggles and picture your Year 7 sex-ed class.

What did you learn about the clitoris? Drawing a blank? You’re not alone. 

Small but mighty, the clitoris is quite amazing in what it can achieve and yet little is commonly known about it. In fact, some men can’t even find it! 

An organ purely for pleasure, there’s much to know about the clitoris. Here’s everything your sex-ed class missed.

#1. A clitoris can grow 300 times in size when aroused.

You read that correctly. That little pea between your legs can grow from 50 up to 300 times in size when a healthy woman is aroused, according to this study. 

This is because when you become aroused the complex network of erectile tissue that forms the wishbone shape of the clitoris swells with blood and creates an erection (Yes, the clitoris can also become erect.)

It’s this swelling of the organ which adds pressure to the vaginal wall and causes lubrication inside the vagina, making penetration more pleasurable and hopefully leading to an orgasm.

#2. Scientists think that vaginal orgasms are actually clitorial.

Elusive as ever, a purely vaginal orgasm is maybe actually not even a real thing? 

Somewhere between 70 per cent to 90 per cent of women are unable to achieve orgasm through penetration alone. Of the 30 per cent to 10 per cent that can, scientists think they aren’t actually having vaginal orgasms but rather clitorial ones.

A sonographic study of the clitoris in 2009 found that because of the wishbone shape of the organ, it is possible that when women are reaching orgasm through penetration alone, it’s actually because the clitoris root is being stimulated from the inside through the thin lower anterior vaginal wall.

#3. The size of the clitoris doesn’t affect your ability to orgasm but the clitorial hood might.

Contrary to the uneducated popular belief, the size of the clitoris doesn’t affect a woman’s ability to orgasm. However, the size of your clitorial hood might. 

If your clitorial hood is a bit thicker, there are a few things that might help with orgasming, should you have trouble. When using your fingers down there, try applying more pressure to the clitoris as well as drawing back the clitorial hood slightly, so that you can more directly stimulate the clitoris. 

How does one draw back their hood? Place your fingers at the top of your inner labia lips and pull upwards. Last but certainly not least, you can ditch your fingers and try using a vibrator for extra stimulation.

#4. The clitoris has a similar structural anatomy to a penis.

The most sensitive organs in the human body, the penis and clitoris start off extremely similar. In fact, they are barely distinguishable in the womb up until 9 weeks. 

Fast forward to adulthood, the clitoris still has a pretty similar structural anatomy to the penis with both “analogous corporal bodies containing sinusoidal erectile tissues surrounded by thick tunica albuginea,” says one study on the development of male and female genitalia. In laywoman’s terms – both genitalia have erectile tissue, the stuff that looks like Swiss cheese in anatomical drawings (sorry, gross!) surrounded by a thick layer of connective tissue. 

The main difference between the clitoris and the penis is the lack of tubular urethra within the clitoris. Again in laywoman’s terms – you don’t pee out of your clitoris like a man pees out of his penis and your clitoris is much shorter than a penis.

#5. The clitoris has more than double the nerve endings of a penis.

There’s one important thing that makes the clitoris very different from the penis, and way more pleasurable. The mighty clitoris has more than double the nerve endings of a penis. This is a fact I personally already knew, because every boyfriend I’ve ever had has brought it up with me at some point or another in envy. I guess we always want what we can’t have…

It was originally thought the clitoris contained about 8,000 nerve endings, but there are in fact an average of 10,280 nerve endings in the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. On the other hand, penial nerve endings vary significantly. Recent research found the average to be 3,844 meaning the clitoris has a helluvalot more nerve endings than its counterpart.