How does an erection happen?
For an erection to occur, a series of events must take place. The first event in this chain is psychosexual stimulation. This is promoted by the male sex drive, also known as libido. The mind then sends impulses down the nerve pathways to the penis. These nerve impulses relax the smooth muscles of the arteries which supply the penis with blood. This muscle relaxation leads to engorgement and erection of the penis. After orgasm, the blood is returned to the general circulation and the penis returns to a soft (flaccid) state. Even a minor disturbance in any of these steps such as decreased blood supply, disturbances of nerve mechanisms or psychosexual problems may lead to erection problems. • What is erectile dysfunction? Impotence is the failure to get an erection, or keep an erection long enough for satisfactory lovemaking. It isn.t a disease, but a symptom of some other problem, either physical, psychological or a mixture of both. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of cases have