Anilingus (also spelled analingus) is an

oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...

and

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...

act (anal–oral contact or anal–oral sex) in which one person stimulates the

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

of another by using their

tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

or lips. The anus has a relatively high concentration of nerve endings and can be an

erogenous zone An erogenous zone (from Greek , ''érōs'' "love"; and English ''-genous'' "producing", from Greek , ''-genḗs'' "born") is an area of the human body that has heightened Sensory processing, sensitivity, the sexual stimulation, stimulation of wh ...

, and so the recipient may receive pleasure from external anal stimulation, whereas pleasure for the giver is usually based more on the principle of the act. People may engage in anilingus for its own sake, before anal penetration, or as part of

foreplay Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...

. All

sexual orientations Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns are ...

may participate in the act. Studies confirm anilingus to be one of the

sexual practices between women Sexual activities involving women who have sex with women (WSW), regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity, can include oral sex, manual sex, or tribadism. Sex toys may be used. Romantic or sexual interpersonal relationship ...

, though only practiced by a minority.

Safer sex Safer or SAFER may refer to: * FSO ''Safer'', a Yemeni floating oil storage and offloading vessel * Safer (surname) * Safar or safer, the second month of the Islamic calendar * As an acronym: ** SAFER, an initiative of the World Health Organizat ...

practices generally revolve around

hygiene Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

so as to prevent

fecal–oral route The fecal–oral route (also called the oral–fecal route or orofecal route) describes a particular route of transmission of a disease wherein pathogens in fecal particles pass from one person to the mouth of another person. Main causes of fec ...

transmission of diseases. Extra precautions include

STI testing A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral s ...

dental dam A dental dam or rubber dam is a thin, square sheet, usually latex or nitrile, used in dentistry to isolate the operative site (one or more teeth) from the rest of the mouth. Sometimes termed "cofferdam, Kofferdam" (from German language, German) ...

s, or

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is the rectal administration of a fluid by injection into the Large intestine, lower bowel via the anus.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word ''enema'' can also refer to the ...

Slang terms

Analingus is also known in slang terminology as rimming (or rim job), eating ass, or tossing the salad. The origin of "tossing a salad" is not entirely known, but it is used in

prison slang Prison slang is an argot used primarily by criminals and detainees in correctional institutions. It is a form of anti-language.Mayr, A. 2012. Prison Language. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Many of the terms deal with criminal behavior ...

in the United States prison system, where performing anilingus on another inmate is one way of paying dues or gaining favor.

Etymology

The term ''anilingus'' comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

words and , from , meaning "to lick" and is based on the pattern of ''

cunnilingus Cunnilingus is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a vulva by using the tongue and lips. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the vulva, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused or achievi ...

''. It entered English through the 1899 F. J. Rebman translation of Edition 10 of sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 book Psychopathia Sexualis, .

Practice

Anilingus can involve a variety of techniques to stimulate the anus, including use of the lips or licking; it may also involve the tongue moving around the edge of the anus or up and down the insides of the cheeks of the buttocks. Insertion of the tongue into the rectum is another possible technique.

Health risks and prevention

Health risk

Anilingus has potential health risks arising from the oral contact with Human feces, feces. Diseases which may be transmitted by contact with feces include: bacterial diseases including shigellosis (bacillary dysentery); viral systemic diseases including hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, poliomyelitis, human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes simplex virus; parasites including intestinal parasites; and infections and inflammations chlamydia infection, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, gonorrhea, lymphogranuloma venereum and other Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infections. Applying the mouth to the genitals immediately after applying it to the anus can introduce the bacterium ''Escherichia coli'' ("''E. coli''") into the urethra, leading to a urinary tract infection. HIV/AIDS is not believed to be easily transmitted through anilingus. Anilingus with a number of casual partners increases the health risks associated with the practice. Generally, people carrying infections that may be passed on during anilingus appear healthy. Intestinal parasite, Parasites may be in the feces if undercooked meat was consumed. The feces contain traces of hepatitis A only if the infected person has eaten contaminated food.

Prevention

Safe sex practices may include thorough washing of the anal region before anilingus to wash away most external fecal particles and reduce the risk of contraction of fecal-sourced infection. An

can also reduce the risk of direct fecal contact. A

may also be used, and another safe sex practice is to avoid unprotected sex which involves fellatio after anal intercourse. If the receiving partner has wounds or open sores on the genitals, or if the giving partner has wounds or open sores on or in the mouth, or Bleeding on probing, bleeding gums, this poses an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections. Brushing the teeth, flossing, undergoing dental work, and eating crunchy foods (such as potato chips) relatively soon before or after performing anilingus also increases the risk of transmission, because all of these activities can cause small scratches on the inside of the lips, cheeks, and palate. These wounds, even when they are microscopic scale, microscopic, increase the chances of contracting sexually transmitted infections that can be transmitted orally under these conditions.

References

External links

Columbia University article on health risks of anilingus
{{Sexual slang Anal eroticism Anal sex Oral eroticism Pornography terminology Sexual acts