In the last decade urological interest in ed has increased spectacularly. This is a positive development for various reasons: for instance, more attention has been paid to the sexual consequences of operations. It has also become apparent that physical abnormalities are more frequently involved than had been traditionally assumed by sexology. In addition, both the […]

In the 1920s various theories were developed on the anatomy and physi­ology of the erection; drive rods and Magdeburg hemispheres were used as analogies. Therapeutically, however, things did not advance beyond the prescription of testosterone preparations. In the Dutch Journal of Sexology of December 1994 there is description of how papaverine and yohimbine was already […]

Spanish fly, musk, garlic, grey amber (made from rotting whale intes­tine), vanilla, phosphorus, saffron, opium, chocolate, truffles, mush­rooms, asparagus, strychnine, parsnips, ginger, cocoa, figs, calves’ brains, shellfish, pickled meat, French beans, dried peas, red wine, marrowbone, fresh egg yolk, aromatic showers focused on the ‘area’, cold enemas, all kinds of mineral water, acupuncture, electropuncture, galvanic […]

On 28 October 1957 in the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles Elvis Presley gave a legendary performance, his first in the city where he lived. A horde of stars with their children had turned up for the first of the two shows, in which Elvis shocked his audience with the steamiest, horniest antics most […]

It is impossible to write about erection problems without dealing with the question of abnormal, deviant or perverse sexuality. The modern view is that a sexual act is not perverse provided it is performed by adults and that neither of the partners suffers any physical or mental harm. This makes it extremely difficult to establish […]

It is not only in war that gunshot wounds to the penis occur. Recently a fifteen-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital after being sprayed with buckshot by a pimp, and wounded in his private parts. How did this happen? Together with some boys of his own age he had got talking to a prostitute […]

What is your record sustained erection time in sexual intercourse? was the question put by Kinsey to several thousand American students. And what was the result? For 4 per cent it was under five minutes, for 18 per cent between about six minutes and a quarter of an hour, for 19 per cent between a […]

Some men are in love with their work, and put all their energy into it — which can lead to problems. One of these is described by the sexologist Wolfgang Buhl in Eros mit grauen Schlafen (1962): ‘professional impotence’. Buhl also speaks of ‘scholarly impotence’. Any academics who feel under attack can console themselves with […]

Some men are unable to find real satisfaction with their own wives, though they have no problem at all with other women. The problem is partner-linked, and there is a host of possible reasons. For almost three decades Bernhard Premsela (1890-1944) worked as a gp in Amster­dam. In addition he was medical director of the […]

Almost two thousand years ago the Apostle Paul’s pronouncement that it is better to marry than to burn in hell was a reluctant admission that human sexuality must have some sort of outlet. Marriage — the institution within which sexuality was to be experienced — was thus accepted by the church — though not yet […]