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Normative values for female genital sensation
Y Vardi1, I Gruenwald, E Sprecher
1Neuro-Urology Unit, Rambam Medical Center and Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
Urology
|January 11, 2000
Summary
This study establishes normal sensory threshold values for the vagina and clitoris, creating a diagnostic tool for female sexual dysfunction caused by neurologic disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gynecology
- Sensory Physiology
Background:
- Neurologic disorders are a potential cause of female sexual dysfunction.
- Current diagnostic methods lack tools to assess genital neural function.
- Establishing normative sensory data is crucial for identifying neural dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide age-specific normative data for vaginal and clitoral sensory thresholds.
- To develop a reliable diagnostic tool for assessing genital neural function in females.
- To aid in the diagnosis of female sexual dysfunction linked to neurologic conditions.
Main Methods:
- Measured warm, cold, and vibratory sensory thresholds in 150 individuals (89 healthy volunteers, 61 patients).
- Utilized the method of limits for threshold determination.
- Assessed test-to-test repeatability across normal and abnormal responses.
Main Results:
- Presented age-corrected normograms with 95% confidence limits for thermal and vibratory thresholds.
- Reported intertest repeatability data for vaginal and clitoral sensory measurements.
- Demonstrated the feasibility and validity of sensory threshold measurements.
Conclusions:
- Vaginal and clitoral thermal and vibratory thresholds are clinically feasible, valid, and repeatable.
- Sensory assessment of female genitalia can serve as a diagnostic tool for neural dysfunction.
- These findings facilitate the diagnosis of female sexual dysfunction related to neurologic disorders.