title: Premature ejaculation. 1. Definition and etiology.
abstract: There is no general agreement on the definition of premature ejaculation, therefore scientific studies often reach discordant results depending on whether they assess the increase in ejaculatory latency or the couple's sexual satisfaction. Etiological theories can be divided into psycho-sexual (anxiety-related, behavioral) and biological (pelvic floor alteration, hypersensitivity of the glans penis, accelerated conduction and cortical amplification of the genital stimuli), both sharing the neurobiological assumption of serotonergic mediation. Premature ejaculation can be iatrogenic (amphetamine, cocaine, dopaminergic drugs) or secondary to urological diseases (prostatovesiculitis, frenulum breve) or to neurological diseases (multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathies, medullary expansion processes).
authors.affiliation: Andrology Unit, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. gpiediferro@libero.it
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piediferro
authors.forename: Elisabetta M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Colpi
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Castiglioni
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nerva
mesh_terms: D004542:Ejaculation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D013997:Time Factors