The anatomy, physiology and molecular pathways of vascular erectile dysfunction

Vascular erectile dysfunction (VED) is composed of penile arterial insufficiency and veno-occlusive dysfunction. Both the arterial and venous dysfunctions are associated with cellular and molecular abnormalities. The goal of this work is to provide a summary of the gross anatomical and physiological abnormalities associated with VED and a theory of how these abnormalities result in VED based on the known molecular mechanism in cavernosal tissue and non-penile vascular tissue.