The steps leading to an Erection

A lot of people wonder what is ED and what it is caused by. To answer this question one should know about the processes taking place in the human body. That’s the usual cycle preceding the erection:

• The brain sends an impulse transferred to the penile nerves
• Smooth muscles in two cavernous bodies (Corpora Cavernosa) located inside the penis get relaxed
• The Corpora Cavernosa get filled with blood causing the penile body to increase in size and go stiff
• A tiny membrane called Tunica Albuginea traps the blood inside the penile body thus making it keep the erected position
• Erection achieved
  

When you no longer feel the sexual desire, Tunica Albuginea returns into its initial position thus letting the blood leave the penile body. The penis becomes flaccid again.

What Is Erectile Dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the repeated inability of a man to acquire an erection strong enough for starting a sexual intercourse or hold the erection for the time long enough for it. There are two types of ED:

• Partial (when a person can’t get an erection stiff enough for starting the intercourse, can’t keep it long enough or doesn’t acquire it regularly)
• Total (when the person is incapable of producing an erection).

What Can Cause ED?

There is a huge number of processes that may be the cause of ED. These can be both physical and mental problems.

The most widespread physical causes of ED include the following: disorders of nervous system, especially its parts in the brain, spinal cord or genital area, vascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, chronic alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, etc. These disorders are the cause of about 80% of ED cases.

Sedentary lifestyle (such as that of office managers or drivers), smoking, obesity and lack of physical exercise may also provoke ED. The worst of the stated above is smoking since it affects the blood flow in the veins and arteries (including the ones located in the genital area), which can cause problems with the hormonal system, for example, testosterone level instability.

Surgery, especially that done on prostate gland, urinary bladder, spinal cord or pelvis, can also become the cause of ED because the genital area is surrounded by a wide network of veins, arteries and nerves that can easily be damaged during the operation.

Moreover, many meds that we use in our daily life can also affect a men’s potential and become the cause of ED. The “black list” of such meds includes blood pressure drugs, antihistamines, antidepressants, sedatives and even appetite suppressants.

Mental and psychological processes able to cause ED are the following: stress, anxiety, the feeling of guilt, depression, low self-esteem, the fear of sexual failure, etc. Mental problems are believed to be the cause of about 20% of the ED cases. What only makes things worse is that men with this or that physical disorder causing ED start experiencing certain psychological problems either.

How To Diagnose ED?

The consequence of tests done by the therapist in attempt to diagnose ED is practically always the same: first the doctor has to figure out when the patient’s first sexual failure occurred and what might have been its reason. If some physiological process is suspected, the patient has to pass through a blood test aimed at checking the hormone level.

If a blood test isn’t enough, additional tests may be taken:

Penile nerve function:
The name of this test is much more complicated than the test itself. Practically, the doctor just touches the patient’s penis and genital area in attempt to define the level of touch sensation. It helps to figure out whether all nerve endings in the genital area are working properly or not.

Ultrasonography:
An ultrasound check helps to evaluate the adequacy of arterial blood circulation inside the patient’s penile body. The reasons for circulation disorders can be the following: scarring of erectile tissue, signs of atherosclerosis and venous leak. After the first test’s over, the patient is given an external medication and the test is carried out again to check if it affects the blood flow or not.

Nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT):
The therapist uses different methods to figure out if the patient acquires spontaneous nocturnal erections (those happening when we sleep) or not. Most men acquire 4-5 spontaneous erections a night.

Cavernosometry:
This test serves to determine the vascular blood pressure inside the penile body. A safe dye is injected into the veins and arteries of genital area, which helps to monitor any possible peculiarities in blood circulation.