There's nobody who'd deny the womb has a role in the reproductive process, but when a woman says she can feel the effects of sex in her uterus, it's a bit hard to pass by unnoticed.

In the movie version of Junichi Watanabe's novel "Ai no Rukeichi," lead character Fuyuka Irie is watching a fireworks display and gushes the line: "(The sound) echoes in my womb." I'm sure I wasn't the only person who remembers the scene. For guys who don't have wombs, Fuyuka's line was extremely exciting.

There's a term called portio orgasm. The portio is the vaginal part of the cervix. It's the part underneath the endocervix that protrudes into the vagina. Perhaps it's easier to understand if I describe it as being like the face the uterus shows to the vagina.

Looking at nerve systems, about one third of all the vagina's nerves are concentrated in the exterior region and the nerves become sparser the deeper you move in. That's why most people believe the portio is not going to feel much during sex. Others argue that if the portio was as sensitive as some say, then women couldn't possibly bear the pain a baby's 10-centimeter circumference head would cause as it left the womb, rendering childbirth impossible.

Does that, therefore, mean the portio orgasm is codswallop? Actually, maybe not. There are also powerful arguments supporting the idea that a portio orgasm is brought about by the penis using the portio as a fulcrum, then stirring up the stomach and banging up against the uterus to enhance arousal. Rather than codswallop, the portio orgasm may only be a sensory illusion.

Getting a pleasant sensation in an area where scientifically there should be almost no feeling at all is yet another reason to support the idea that sex is all in the mind. Even if the man isn't thrusting, merely joining the pelvises together is going to stimulate the clitoris and increase the irresistible feeling.

As women know, this doesn't mean that the more vigorous a man's thrust, the greater pleasure she's going to feel. Men have little chance to learn properly about the structure of women's bodies and, unfortunately, for many guys the method they choose to pick up their knowledge of female private parts is through adult movies.

Some may laugh, but there have been cases where thrusting too hard has resulted in the rupturing of women's vaginal walls. Sometimes, the cases have been so severe they have required emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. In one case, the man said he kept on thrusting harder because his partner was letting out screams of ecstasy, but she was actually crying out in pain to try and get him to stop. If women reading the MDN don't tell their partners that over zealous thrusting during sex isn't the most selfish act they've ever seen, they run the risk of what could be a very embarrassing result.

Speaking of the womb, there are women's worries like uterine fibroid and uterine cancer, but please allow me to say a word about these.

The idea that those who undergo a hysterectomy can no longer enjoy sex is a myth. While I can't deny some women may feel a sense of loss, it scares me that some people may believe such a myopic concept.

Women, whether they have a womb or not, should remind themselves that sex is all in the mind, think scientifically (rationally) and positively about everything and there's no reason why they should distance themselves from sex.That's the message I -- as a doctor and a writer -- leave to you. (By Dr. Kunio Kitamura, special to the Mainichi)

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