ERECTION: THE BLOOD-PUMPING SYSTEM
The penis, testicles and other organs can’t do everything on their own. They need help. Vital to erection are the arteries that expand and carry extra amounts of blood to the penis when a man is sexually aroused. Without increased flow, there can be no erection. The crucial locations for this blood-flow activity are the corpora cavernosa, those two long cylinders which run down each side of the penis. Inside the corpora cavernosa are thousands of small, balloonlike cavities called sinuses. Important arteries run into the corpora cavernosa and connect with these sinuses. When a man gets an erection, the arteries supply the sinuses with blood, causing them to expand. The penis then becomes larger and firmer.
Also located in the corpora cavernosa are thousands of tiny, thin-walled veins which normally drain blood from the sinuses. These veins play a far more important role in this process than many physicians have thought. New research shows that veins have to function properly for a man to get and maintain a good, firm erection. Research by Tom Lue, M.D., urologist, and his colleagues at the University of California, indicates that pressure from the expanding sinuses compresses the thin-walled veins and thus slows down the blood flow out of the penis. But, if things don’t work properly and the veins are not squeezed enough by the arterial sinuses, the increased blood flowing into the penis will only flow back out, leaving a man with no erection, or a poorly sustained one.
To imagine this process, think of a bathtub which is filling up with water. The amount of water in the tub depends on how fast the water is flowing into it—and how quickly it’s leaving. If you have a faucet on full blast, but there is a large open drain in the tub, you’ll never get enough water to take a bath.
It appears that there are at least three reasons why the veins won’t work properly, and shut down: There’s not enough arterial blood getting into the sinuses to completely expand them and get them to squeeze the veins partially shut; the sinuses are too stiff to be expanded by the incoming blood; the veins were abnormally formed at birth so they can’t be squeezed shut. The end result of all this is that a man won’t get a good erection, or if he gets one, he will lose it too quickly for intercourse to take place. Vein problems can be treated.
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