With regard to intravaginal ejaculation latency, men typically reach orgasm five to seven minutes after the start of penile-vaginal intercourse, taking into account their desire and that of their partners, but 10 minutes is also a common intravaginal ejaculation latency.

[7] The initial stage of ejaculation, called emission, is controlled by a reflex in the sympathetic spinal cord.

[8] Ejaculation reaches its peak in the expulsion phase, which involves the discharge of semen from the urethral opening.

For the semen to be expelled out of the penis, the bladder neck stays shut while the external urethral sphincter is relaxed.

For most men, the first ejection occurs during the second contraction, which is typically the largest, expelling 40% or more of total semen discharge.

In three-quarters of men tested, ejaculate "is propelled with so little force that the liquid is not carried more than a minute distance beyond the tip of the penis."

In contrast to those test subjects, Kinsey noted "In other males the semen may be propelled from a matter of some inches to a foot or two, or even as far as five or six and (rarely) eight feet".

[14] During the series of contractions that accompany ejaculation, semen is propelled from the urethra at 500 cm/s (200 in/s), close to 18 km/h (11 mph).

During this time a male feels a deep and often pleasurable sense of relaxation, usually in the groin and thighs.

A short recovery period may allow partners to continue sexual play relatively uninterrupted by ejaculation.

One possible underlying cause of low volume or complete lack of semen is ejaculatory duct obstruction.

Longer time of sexual stimulation immediately preceding ejaculation can result in higher concentration of sperm.

The first ejaculation in males often occurs about 12 months after the onset of puberty, generally through masturbation or nocturnal emission (wet dreams).

[20] As the male proceeds through puberty, the semen develops mature characteristics with increasing quantities of normal sperm.

[22] Expression of c-Fos in the following areas has been observed:[23][24] Although uncommon, some men can achieve ejaculations during masturbation without any manual stimulation.

[25] Hands-free ejaculation can also be achieved by prostate stimulation alone, either internally (with the use of sex toys, fingers or performing anal sex or pegging) or externally (such as perineum massages),[26][27] although prostate orgasms without ejaculation (dry orgasms) are also possible.

A small fraction of men have a disease called postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), which causes severe muscle pain throughout the body and other symptoms immediately following ejaculation.

[43] These suggest that frequent ejaculation after puberty offers some reduction of the risk of prostate cancer.

The US study involving 29,342 US men aged 46 to 81 years[42] suggested that "high ejaculation frequency was related to decreased risk of total prostate cancer".

This group were one-third less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer when compared with men who ejaculated less than three times a week at this age.

[50] The first report and footage of spontaneous ejaculation in an aquatic mammal was recorded in a wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin near Mikura Island, Japan, in 2012.

[51] In horses, sheep, and cattle, ejaculation occurs within a few seconds, but in boars, it can last for five to thirty[52] minutes.

[56] The last phase of a male canine's ejaculation occurs during the copulatory tie, and contains mostly prostatic fluid.