ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the particular problems posed by male urination which is almost overwhelmingly accomplished from a standing position and which poses major sanitary problems. The nearly universal custom in Western societies is for females to urinate in a sitting position. From a purely physiological viewpoint, females could perform in a standing position as well. Males can urinate equally conveniently and comfortably from either a sitting/squatting, or standing, position. In general, men will urinate in a sitting/squatting position only when this activity takes place in conjunction with defecation and they have already assumed a sitting position. The particular combination of size and shape may vary over a considerable range, so long as the container meets the criteria of presenting an adequate target area and of minimizing and containing back splash as well as dispersion. The avoidance of a distinctive and clearly recognizable noise should be a major consideration in any design.
