Couple have intercourse in MRI machine for experiment as one bizarre widespread factor defined
Scientists invited people to get down and dirty inside an MRI machine as part of a medical study – and the results were not just hot and steamy, but also provided amazing biological insights
A scientific study revealed just how our bodies work once we get under the covers, but strange questions have been raised (stock)(Image: Lu ShaoJi via Getty Images)
A pair decided to get hot and steamy during an MRI scan, all in the name of scientific research. Ida Sabelis and her partner Jupp offered researchers a glimpse into precisely what occurs in the body during intercourse, but there’s one aspect the boffins can’t quite work out.
The study, which appeared in the British Medical Journal 1999 edition, determined that “taking magnetic resonance images of the male and female genitals during coitus is feasible and contributes to understanding of anatomy“. But there was one component of the research they weren’t anticipating.
Boffins were floored when the results appeared to show just how the body is able to contort itself when people are getting down and dirty. But even whilst the study proved to be incredibly insightful, scientists are still scratching their heads over why a woman’s bladder would be so impacted during the session.
The remarkable investigation revealed, according to the Mirror: “The images obtained showed that during intercourse in the ‘missionary position’ the penis has the shape of a boomerang and 1/3 of its length consists of the root of the penis. During female sexual arousal without intercourse the uterus was raised and the anterior vaginal wall lengthened; the size of the uterus did not increase during sexual arousal.”
However, whilst this proved enlightening, there was something else the researchers couldn’t fathom. A total of eight couples and three single women participated in the study.
The scientists discovered that during all 13 occasions of intimacy within an MRI scanner, the woman’s bladder would swiftly fill up. The reasoning behind this has baffled scientists, with expert Menko Victor ‘Pek’ van Andel proposing it might be ‘evolution’s way to force women to urinate after sex’ and potentially ‘avoid urinary tract infections’.
Whilst this hypothesis remains unproven, the expert explained: “In every final scan we could see a big, full bladder, even though most of the women went to the toilet before they went inside the MRI.” Ida revealed that intimacy in the MRI scanner wasn’t particularly romantic, though they didn’t require Viagra to maintain arousal.
She has previously explained her motivations, highlighting her role as a passionate advocate for women’s rights and her desire to expand scientific and medical understanding of the female body. Ida described the entire experience as an ‘act of love and a performance’.
Whilst the scientific study concluded safely, others have been far less fortunate with their own experiments. One woman sustained appalling injuries after a sex toy she’d left inside herself was violently pulled through her body during an MRI scan.
The 22-year-old had reportedly inserted a “butt plug” prior to the procedure — apparently wrongly assuming it was made entirely from silicon. Unfortunately, it contained metal at its centre and, as a result, the item reacted perilously with the machine, causing the toy to be wrenched from her rectum and dragged upwards through her body.
An image was subsequently shared online and prompted urgent warnings about wearing metallic objects during the scan. A social media user, DreadPirateZero, posted a shocking image on X, previously known as Twitter, which soon sent shockwaves.
Uploading the photo, the user penned the caption: “Never wear a butt plug to your MRI appointment. My God.” The post further alleged that the sex toy had been yanked through the patient’s body into their chest cavity, causing “major injuries”, but the woman survived.
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