A completely different but common ailment of the penis is phimosis, contraction of the foreskin. The only reason for operating on the foreskin is a lasting contraction that leads to problems. Virtually all newborn baby boys have a slight degree of phimosis with some adhe­sion, which almost always disappears spontaneously. Actually the term adhesion is […]

Hypospadia is a condition in which the opening of the urethra — which is normally at the top of the glans — is located on the underside, the shaft of the penis or even in the scrotum. In addition the foreskin on the underside of the glans is missing, and the erect penis is sometimes […]

The name of Marquis Frangois Gigot de la Peyronie, personal physican to King Louis xv, is linked to a most unusual abnormality of the penis. Peyronie’s disease indicates a crooked erect penis caused by excessive connective tissue formation in the wall of the erectile tissue compart­ment. At the point affected a hardening develops and elasticity […]

Priapism is a totally different affliction of the penis. It is the medical term for a usually painful erection lasting longer than three hours, with a complete absence of any sexual arousal. In Graeco-Roman mythology Priapus is one of the lesser gods, of fertility, viticulture, gardening, beekeeping, etc. He is usually depicted with a gigantic […]

‘Getting stuck in a rut’ as one gets older is the theme of Guy de Mau­passant’s story ‘Set in One’s Ways’ (‘La Rouille’), which describes how Monsieur and Madame de Courville finally fail to get the old Baron Hector Gontran de Coutelier to marry Berthe Vilers. To begin with the baron is very enthusiastic about […]

When God had created the world and was about to fix the length of each creature’s life, the ass came and asked, ‘Lord, how long shall I live?’ ‘Thirty years,’ replied God; ‘does that content thee?’ ‘Ah, Lord,’ answered the ass, ‘that is a long time. Think of my painful existence! To carry heavy burdens […]

As the years go by most men notice that they sometimes have trouble in achieving an erection or maintaining it for long enough. Some con­clude that this means they are finished as sexual beings, that they have reached the ‘penopause’. Understandable, if one knows that many of them were brought up with the idea that […]

Strange as it may seem, the medicine that broke all sales records was a fluke. At the pharmaceuticals group Pfizer researchers were looking for a new medication for cardiovascular disease. One substance reviewed was sildenafil, the active component of the Viagra pill. There was con­siderable hope that it would be possible to use it to […]

Well, that is possible, since experiencing an orgasm is not in itself dependent on an erection. Experience shows, though, that most men are very attached to an orgasm with an erect penis. As regards the quality of orgasm, this is never reduced after the implantation of a prosthesis. There are various kinds of prosthesis on […]

A more or less natural erection can be simulated not only by the im­plantation of an erection prosthesis, but also by the use of a so-called vacuum pump in combination with a penile constriction ring. Down the ages the constriction ring has been used a sex aid. Four hundred years ago in Japan penile rings […]