Erectile dysfunction

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Flashcards

Erectile dysfunction

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Questions

USMLE® Step 1 style questions USMLE

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USMLE® Step 2 style questions USMLE

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A 60-year-old man comes to the urologist for evaluation of difficulty maintaining an erection for the last three months. The patient's past medical history is significant for type II diabetes mellitus, hypertension, congestive cardiac failure, coronary artery disease, and major depressive disorder. Medications include metformin, glimepiride, bupropion, lisinopril, metoprolol, aspirin, and atorvastatin. Family history is unremarkable. The patient smokes two packs of cigarettes daily. He does not use other recreational drugs or alcohol. Temperature is 37.0°C (98.6°F), pulse is 90/min, respirations are 20/min, and blood pressure is 120/75 mmHg. He is alert and oriented to time, place, and person. Examination of the external genitalia is noncontributory. The remainder of the physical examination, in addition to the visual field examination, is unremarkable. Neurological examination reveals a loss of vibration sense over the bilateral lower limbs with intact ankle reflexes. The patient’s symptoms are most likely associated with which of the following pathological processes?  

External References

First Aid

2024

2023

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Erectile dysfunction p. 584

β -blockers and p. 245, 327

cimetidine p. 405

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome p. 479

PDE-5 inhibitors for p. 675

Peyronie disease p. 669

sildenafil p. 705

Transcript

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In erectile dysfunction, an individual is unable to develop or maintain an erection during sex.

This disorder is also called impotence and like other sexual dysfunction, this condition becomes more common with age.

Sex can be important within relationships, so erectile dysfunction often carries with it emotional and psychological stigma.

In both males and females,, sexual activity involves a sequence of events called the sexual response cycle.

This cycle has four phases, excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

During the excitement phase, muscle tension, heart rate, and blood flow to the genitals increases.

In males, this is called an erection.

When these reach the maximum level, it’s called the plateau phase.

Next, the accumulated sexual tension gets released during orgasm, causing ejaculation in males.

Immediately after orgasm comes the resolution phase, where the body slowly returns to its original, un-excited state.

Alright, let’s take a closer look at the penis which is made of three long cylindrical bodies: the corpus spongiosum that surrounds the penile urethra, and the two corpora cavernosa made of erectile tissue.

The corpora cavernosa are wrapped in a fibrous coat called the tunica albuginea, and each corpus cavernosum is made up of blood-filled spaces called the cavernosal spaces.

These areas are lined with endothelial cells surrounded by smooth muscle.

Running down the centre of each corpus cavernosum is a large artery called the deep artery which gives off smaller arteries that supply the cavernosal spaces.

Next, blood get drained from these spaces by small emissary veins, which drain into the deep dorsal vein.

This vein then carries the blood back into the systemic circulation.

Now, the penis receives both somatic and autonomic innervation through the cavernous nerves, which innervate both the corpus spongiosum, and the corpora cavernosa.

You can remember the functions of these fibers with the mnemonic “point and shoot.”

“Point” is erection and it’s caused by “P,” or parasympathetic fibers.

Summary

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to get and maintain an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse. It is a common problem, affecting main people. There are many possible causes of ED, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and low testosterone levels.

Sources

  1. "Robbins Basic Pathology" Elsevier (2017)
  2. "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Twentieth Edition (Vol.1 & Vol.2)" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2018)
  3. "Pathophysiology of Disease: An Introduction to Clinical Medicine 8E" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2018)
  4. "CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2020" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2019)
  5. "Physiology of Penile Erection and Pathophysiology of Erectile Dysfunction" Urologic Clinics of North America (2005)
  6. "Mechanism of diabetic neuropathy: Where are we now and where to go?" Journal of Diabetes Investigation (2010)
  7. "Priapism associated with pregabalin" Urology Annals (2014)
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