Penile Blood Pressure

Abstract

Measurement of penile blood pressure has been advocated for investigation of erectile impotence due to arterial insufficiency in the penis. Using both strain gauge plethysmography and ultrasonic technique, and expressing the penile blood pressure as an index of the brachial blood pressure, the coefficient of variation in double determinations in non-arteriosclerotic, potent men was 6%. The normal range of the index was 0.7 to 1.02. More than 90% of men with arteriosclerotic disease of the legs and penile blood pressure index below 0.60 were impotent. The penile blood pressure thus can demonstrate, though it does not exclude, arterial insufficiency in the penis.