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Physiology of Erection

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Book cover Cancer and Sexual Health

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Urology ((CCU))

Abstract

Penile erection is the process by which the flaccid phallus becomes engorged and rigid, thus facilitating sexual intercourse. The mechanisms and means by which the penis becomes erect have been a source of fascination, superstition, and interest for humans throughout recorded history. It is only within the past 40 years that the physiological and molecular pathways that mediate this critically important process have been elucidated. With improvements in our understanding of the physiology of erection, the medical community has been able to potentiate and improve sexual function in ways scarcely imagined in the past.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Tom F. Lue

Authors
  1. Alan W. Shindel
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  2. Tom F. Lue
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tom F. Lue .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sexual Medicine Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, East 68th Street 353, New York, 10021, New York, USA

    John P. Mulhall

  2. Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Dept. Radiation Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Groene Hilledijk 301, Rotterdam, 3075 EA, Netherlands

    Luca Incrocci

  3. Alvarado Hospital, Alvarado Road 6719, San Diego, 92120, California, USA

    Irwin Goldstein

  4. New England Research Institutes, Galen Street 9, Watertown, 02472, Massachusetts, USA

    Ray Rosen

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Shindel, A.W., Lue, T.F. (2011). Physiology of Erection. In: Mulhall, J., Incrocci, L., Goldstein, I., Rosen, R. (eds) Cancer and Sexual Health. Current Clinical Urology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-916-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-916-1_6

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-915-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-916-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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