[Assessment of erectile dysfunction with Doppler-duplex ultrasonography]

To evaluate the penile echo Doppler study and review the anatomy, perfusion, innervation and physiology of erection.

The technique, spectral morphological changes of the cavernous arteries after drug-induced erection, modifications and normal values are described.

Impotence or erectile dysfunction, which is defined as the inability of the male to achieve or sustain an erection sufficient for successful sexual intercourse, is a benign condition with an important impact on the wellbeing of the patient. Statistical studies have shown a high age-dependent prevalence in healthy subjects and an association with different conditions in patients. To establish whether impotence is organic or not and to identify its underlying cause require submitting the patient to not a few diagnostic tests. Since most of the cases of organic impotence are of vascular origin, it is necessary to utilize a diagnostic method that can identify patients with an underlying vascular disorder (the most common cause) and distinguish those with arteriogenic impotence from those with insufficiency of the complex corporeal veno-occlusive system.