It is well known that cigarette smoke can cause erectile dysfunction by affecting the penile vascular system. However, the exact effects of nicotine on the corpus cavernosum remains poorly understood. Nicotine has been reported to cause relaxation of the corpus cavernosum; it has also been reported to cause both contraction and relaxation. Therefore, high concentrations of nicotine were studied...

PURPOSE To evaluate the combined role of mescenchymal stem cells (MSCs) infected with recombinant adenoviruses expressing human BDNF (rAd/hBDNF) on the erectile dysfunction in rat with cavernous nerve injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rats divided into 4 groups: control group, bilateral cavernous nerve crushing group (BCNC group), BCNC with MSCs group and BCNC with MSCs infected with rAd/hBDNF gr...

PURPOSE To evaluate the penile morphological modifications of pubertal and adult rats chronically treated with supra-physiological doses of anabolic androgenic steroids. METHODS Forty-eight male Wistar rats were distributed into four groups: two control groups, 105- and 65-day-old (C105 and C65, respectively) injected with peanut oil (vehicle); and two treated groups, 105- and 65-day-old (T10...

The case of a 32-year-old man with perineal pain and local swelling is presented. Partial segmental thrombosis of the corpus cavernosum was diagnosed and treated conservatively with systemic anticoagulants. Conservative management proved to be a safe and successful therapeutic option in partial thrombosis of the corpus cavernosum.

Examination of histological sections from flaccid and artificially erected nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) penises confirms that the mammalian corpus cavernosum is the first known biological hydrostat reinforced by collagen fibers arranged at 0 degree and 90 degrees to its long axis. The morphology of this axial orthogonal fiber array affects the mechanical behavior of mammalian pe...

Penises are inflatable intromittent organs that transfer sperm to a female during copulation. Most of the time, males store their penises in a flexible detumesced state, but they can rapidly inflate them with blood when an opportunity for reproductive behavior arises. In mammals, the primary erectile tissue is called the corpus cavernosum; its anatomy is a close match to a model hydroskeleton r...

Artificial inflation of corpora cavernosa from the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) showed that the expansion of the tunica albuginea during erection increases both components of flexural stiffness: the second moment of area and Young's modulus of elasticity. Folded tissue and crimped collagen fibers in the tunica albuginea permit its expansion during erection. As the tunica albugin...

Cadherins, being responsible for selective cell recognition and normal tissue integrity in adults, regulate morphogenesis in a variety of organs during development. In this study, anti-rat pan-cadherin antibody, specific to all subgroups of the cadherin family, was used to map the distribution of the pan-cadherin immunoreactivity in adult rat organs. Pan-cadherin immunoreactivity positive tissu...

A 24-year-old, previously healthy male presented with sudden onset pain at the base of the penis, radiating to the scrotum. Color Doppler ultrasound revealed a thrombus, measuring 9 cm on its longest (longitudinal) axis, in the proximal third of the right corpus cavernosum (Figure 1A). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the penis confirmed the thrombosis (Figures 1B and 1C) and revealed, at th...