bulbospongiosus muscle

The bulbospongiosus is the thick extrapelvic continuation of the urethralis. It originates from the perineal body (and midline raphe over corpus spongiosum in male) and inserts at the superficial perineal membrane and dorsal penile or clitoral aponeurosis. In males, the bulbospongiosus muscles are united and surround the base of the penis. They aid in emptying of urine and ejaculate from urethra. In females, these muscles are separated in the middle by the vagina and act to constrict the vaginal introitus. They can also stop the flow of blood into veins, which maintains an erection in the penis of the male and the clitoris of the female. Its nerve connection is the perineal branch of the pudendal nerve (S2, 3, 4). Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the bulbospongiosus muscle is

The bulbospongiosus is the thick extrapelvic continuation of the urethralis. It originates from the perineal body (and midline raphe over corpus spongiosum in male) and inserts at the superficial perineal membrane and dorsal penile or clitoral aponeurosis. In males, the bulbospongiosus muscles are united and surround the base of the penis. They aid in emptying of urine and ejaculate from urethra. In females, these muscles are separated in the middle by the vagina and act to constrict the vaginal introitus. They can also stop the flow of blood into veins, which maintains an erection in the penis of the male and the clitoris of the female. Its nerve connection is the perineal branch of the pudendal nerve (S2, 3, 4). The atlas records it as a muscle at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the bulbospongiosus muscle is

It sits in the pelvis and trunk, within the muscular system. Not positioned individually. Drawn inside the structure this dataset says contains it — the containment is asserted, the exact spot within it is not.

What the bulbospongiosus muscle connects to

The atlas records 4 typed relationships for it, across 4 kinds of connection. part of perineum.

Supply and innervation

Innervation: perineal nerve.

Also called

Also recorded as bulbospongiosus, musculus bulbospongiosus, bulbocavernosus, bulbocavernosus muscle and bulbocavernous. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0011389, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

• Part of: perineum.
• A kind of: perineal muscle.
• Continuous with: external anal sphincter.
• Innervated by: perineal nerve.

Questions

Where is the bulbospongiosus muscle?

It sits in the pelvis and trunk, within the muscular system. Not positioned individually. Drawn inside the structure this dataset says contains it — the containment is asserted, the exact spot within it is not.

What does the bulbospongiosus muscle connect to?

Part of: perineum.

Is the bulbospongiosus muscle the same in other species?

Leumas holds the same relationship vocabulary for every species it carries, so where another dataset records this structure you can put the two side by side on /compare.