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Radiation - treatment using radiation to destroy cancer cells.
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Rape - Coerced sexual intercourse.
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Rape Trauma Syndrome - The emotional and physical consequences one experiences after being sexually assaulted.
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Rapid Orgasm - When a woman climaxes more quickly than her partner and loses interest in continued sex play.
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Reality-Based Sexuality Education - Age-appropriate, culturally sensitive sexuality education programs that include open, nonjudgmental information about all aspects of sexuality; they encourage critical thinking, self-actualization, and behavioral changes through the empowerment of holistic knowledge about the body, sex, relationships, birth control, safer sex, gender role, and so on, by being realistic about people's lives. Also referred to as comprehensive sexuality education.
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Rectovaginal Exam - Physical examination of the reproductive organs and the tissues that separate the vagina and rectum.
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Rectum - The lowest end of the intestine before the anus, where solid waste (feces) is stored.
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Red blood cells - Small, hemoglobin-filled blood cells that carry oxygen to the body's tissues.
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Refractory Period - The time after ejaculation during which a man is not able to have an erection.
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Registered Dietitian - An expert on food health. In the United States, anyone who wishes to become a registered dietician must take certain courses and pass an exam.
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Rehabilitation - Training, therapy, or other help given to someone who has a serious injury or illness. This training will help him or her to live a healthy and productive life.
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Relaxation techniques - These are techniques, or things that you can do, to help you relax. They are often used for reducing stress. Relaxation techniques include meditation (sitting still, breathing slowly and clearing your mind), yoga, deep breathing, and visualization (closing your eyes and seeing a scene that relaxes you, such as a beach or a mountain lake).
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Remission - a period of time without symptoms of a chronic condition.
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Reproductive Cell - The unique cell — egg in women, sperm in men — that can join with its opposite to make reproduction possible.
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Reproductive organs - The parts of the body involved in reproduction (producing a baby). In a female, they include the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and vagina.
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Resistant - does not respond.
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Resolution - The period after orgasm in which the body returns to a nonstimulated state. The last stage in the sexual response cycle.
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Respite Care - care and supervision usually provided by volunteer organizations that provides a person's caregiver some time of rest or relief.
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Retarded Ejaculation - Commonly used term for inhibited orgasm in men.
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Retrograde Ejaculation - An ejaculation from the prostate into the bladder.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis - A painful disease that causes joints, tissues, and sometimes other parts of your body, to swell.
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Roe versus Wade - The 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
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Role Play - Acting out a fantasy with a partner.
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Romantic Love - An idealized love relationship that is often as unrealistic as it is passionate. In courtship, romance may have elements of flattery, excitement, and the feeling of being "swept away," as in a fairy tale.
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Rooting - a reflex that newborn babies have, along with the reflexes for sucking and swallowing. Rooting means turning the head to search for the nipple and milk.
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Rubella - also called German measles. Rubella virus causes rash, mild fever, and arthritis. If a woman gets rubella while she is pregnant, she could have a miscarriage or her baby could be born with serious birth defects.
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Rut - The period of sexual arousal in male animals that is a response to estrus.
