So Your Erection Went Home Early — Is That Actually a Problem?

The beauty of medical terminology is that it is factual, clinical and unequivocal — essential for ensuring that what is being researched within the walls where white coats roam with stethoscopes is clearly and unambiguously understood.

Erectile Dysfunction, or ED for those in a hurry, is the terminology used by the medical profession to refer to situations where, during a sexual encounter, a penis owner might not become erect at all, might not maintain an erection, or might find their erection softening.

One issue with such stark jargon is, however, that when it crosses the threshold from the research lab and clinic into the everyday world, it is picked up by popular culture and takes on a whole new meaning of its own — a distortion from the original that could end up with a bloke interpreting ED as "my dick is broken."

Now all eyes are on the penis, which was quietly enjoying a lovely spa day nestled against the warmth of the body, and which, in the space of an instant, stands accused of not being a team player.

First and foremost, none of the above physical occurrences are, in effect, a dysfunction when taken in isolation.

Even in the most passionate of sexual encounters — where the participants in the erotic game are totally invested in each other, in giving and receiving pleasure, and are not angling for a 10 from an invisible sex judge — both partners might experience a waxing and waning of arousal. This is entirely normal and even expected.

So how does the process work?

In becoming erect, a penis fills its chambers with blood, dispatched by the body on instructions from the brain. The organ functions much like a party balloon — internal chambers fill with blood while the tough outer sheath provides the resistance that makes it harden. The party host would ordinarily tie a knot at the base of the balloon, but in the case of a penis owner, a clever system of channels and pressure, or for ease of understanding, 'levers' — I'll spare you the medical names, as they sound frankly atrocious — works like river locks, ensuring that the volume of blood leaving the organ is much lower than the volume entering it.

Much to every bloke's chagrin, there is no dedicated blood reservoir for the penis, nor anything equivalent to a knot that guarantees a constant erection — a travesty and an injustice, I know.

How efficiently those levers open and close, and therefore how blood fills or leaves the penis in preparation for or during sexual encounters, depends on a number of factors. Physical health, medication, mental health, age, and emotional state all contribute to how much, how quickly, and for how long blood transits through the penis.

The three important takeaways for now are: firstly, that experiencing ED does not automatically mean your dick is broken; secondly, that when it does happen occasionally, it is not a "bad thing"; and thirdly, that there are other forces at play worth exploring before one accuses one's penis of misdemeanour.

Next time, I explore how physical health might impact sexual response.