Erectile dysfunction, what is it?

Erectile dysfunction is the inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual activity. Approximately 30 million men in North America alone suffer from this form of impotence.

Erectile dysfunction can be caused by psychological as well as physical conditions. Such physical conditions are associated with such activities that affect blood vessels and restrict blood flow to the penis.

Such conditions are:

• Depression
• Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Heart Disease
  

Medications that affect impotence are those that are used to treat heart disease and depression such as Nitroglycerine. Also, traumatic injuries that interupt the connection of the central nervous system with the penis cause erectile dysfunction. Since older men are more likely to have such conditions and use more medications, they are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

In Biological Terms:

When a man is sexually stimulated a normal penile erection occurs as such:

• The arteries in the penis relax and widen, allowing an increased blood flow to the two corpora cavernosa, which make up most of the mass of the penis.
• Small cavernosal veins contract, restricting blood flow and maintaining the erection.
• The changes in blood flow are controlled by the release of nitric oxide from cavernous nerves and endothelial cells.
• The nitric oxide stimulates the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP), which relaxes the smooth muscle cells of the corpora cavernosa allowing the increased blood flow.