Physiology of erection

An erection is an increase of the penis’s volume with a sharp increase of its elasticity, caused by stretching and filling the cavernous bodies during sexual stimulation. An erection is a complex integrated process involving the interaction of three physiological systems: central nervous system (CNS), peripheral nervous system and smooth muscles of blood vessels and cavernosum of the penis. Tension and relaxation of the penis are vascular phenomenons under the control of the central nervous system.
By current data exciting of the man leads to activation of the peripheral nervous system and as a result, there is relaxation of vascular walls of cavernosum of the penis and filling them with blood through a chain of complex chemical reactions. At this moment, due to rising of the pressure in the cavernous bodies of the penis there is compression of the veins and reducing of the blood’s outflow. This dual mechanism – increasing of blood flow to the penis and decreasing of outflow – that leads to an erection.
Erectile dysfunction occurs when there is a injury of one or more of these mechanisms. Reasons of erectile dysfunction are different. Accepted to share them on the psychological (psychogenic), organic (organ’s damages, diseases) and mixed. The psychological reasons include stress (illness and death of loved ones, dismissal), asthenia, damages of sleep and wakefulness, the fear of sex (the fear of failure, self-doubt), and depression. That’s approved that about 25 – 90% of men suffered from depression are suffered from erectile dysfunction too. Also depressed men have more chances to get this disease. There is also an inverse relationship between the frequency of erectile dysfunction and alcohol’s intake. In chronic cases of alcoholism the erectile dysfunction occurs in 60% of men. Age, of course, influences on the quality of men’s erection, although not an absolute indicator. In the people of old age decreases the rate of blood flow, the level of testosterone, the sensitivity of the nervous system and the elasticity of vascular walls, which accordingly affects the erection.
However, only such changes very rarely lead to erectile dysfunction and people not suffering from chronic diseases of internal organs, are capable to live a normal sex life till the old age. The most of the men have chronic illness as the main reason of erectile disorder. Nowdays has absolutely proven the relationship of erectile dysfunction with hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and atherosclerosis.
Sometimes erectile dysfunction is the first sign of a hidden flow of these serious diseases. In such cases, treatment of the main disease increases the results of treatment of erectile dysfunction.Sometimes erectile dysfunction occurs as a result of chronic diseases that is a reason a lot of patients refuse the life-saving treatment. In such cases, the joint selection of treatment by urologist and general practitioner is necessary. Often, change of the use of the drug’s type may help patients overcome negative changes in the sexual sphere. In most of cases, the appearance of erectile dysfunction is associated with several reasons. Impacting on each of them is the key to successful treatment and improving the quality of life of men.