title: Physiology of penile erection and pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction.
abstract: This article reviews the physiology of penile erection, the components of erectile function, and the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction. The molecular and clinical under-standing of erectile function continues to gain ground at a particularly fast rate. Advances in gene discovery have aided greatly in working knowledge of smooth muscle relaxation/contraction pathways. The understanding of the nitric oxide pathway has aided not only in the molecular understanding of the tumescence but also greatly in the therapy of erectile dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94143-0738, USA.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Tom F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lue
mesh_terms: D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000502:physiology*; D010413:Penis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology