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Biomedical subjects

S Droupy

Publications and source records attributed to S Droupy.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Penile arteries in humans. Origin--distribution--variations.

The arterial supply to the penis remains unclear. The frequency of occurrence and functional significance of accessory pudendal arteries remains controversial and it has been suggested that the presence of variations is correlated with atheromatous disease involving internal pudendal arteries. We dissected pelvic and penile arteries in 20 adult fresh male cadavers. The results are expressed according to age and the presence of atherosclerosis. Three patterns of penile arterial supply can be described: type I arising exclusively from internal pudendal arteries (3/20), type II arising from both accessory and internal pudendal arteries (14/20) and type III arising exclusively from accessory pudendal arteries (3/20). This study emphasizes the findings previously reported by early anatomists. No correlation between the presence of accessory pudendal arteries and the extent of atheroclerosis was observed. Accordingly we postulate that these variations are usually congenital. Terminal branches of accessory pudendal arteries mainly supply the corpora cavernosa. As they are located very close to the prostate, the risk of injury is high during radical prostatectomy. The possibility of impotence from such injury after radical prostatectomy needs therefore to be reconsidered.

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Erectile response to hypothalamic stimulation in rats: role of peripheral nerves.

The role of peripheral parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways was explored in erectile responses elicited by hypothalamic medial preoptic area (MPOA) stimulation in adult male anesthetized rats. Under control conditions, MPOA stimulation reliably elicited erectile responses evidenced by an increase of the intracavernous pressure-to-blood pressure ratio. The erectile response was abolished by 1) acute bilateral section of cavernous or pelvic nerves or cauda equina and 2) chronic lesions of pelvic nerves or cauda equina. Acute section of the hypogastric nerve did not significantly decrease the erectile response. The erectile response was significantly depressed after acute or chronic sections of the paravertebral sympathetic chain at the L4-L5 level or chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine. The decrease due to acute sympathetic chain lesion was reversed by bilateral ligation of the external iliac arteries. Accordingly MPOA stimulation elicits erectile responses via 1) activation of the parasympathetic outflow conveyed by the pelvic and cavernous nerves and 2) activation of neural fibers conveyed by the sympathetic pathways. We propose that sympathetic fibers running in the paravertebral sympathetic chain are responsible for vasoconstriction of nonpenile areas to divert blood to the penis, allowing the dramatic increase of penile arterial inflow required for erection.

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