[New findings on the physiology of erection or the concept of the active sponge].

Until these last years, erection was mainly explained by neurovascular mechanisms. The erectile bodies were assimilated as a simple sponge passively filled or emptied by an unbalance between the arterial and venous flows. In fact, the erectile bodies themselves control the erection thanks to their potent smooth musculature.

[Old theories and present-day hypotheses for the mechanisms of erection].

On the basis of old theories and recent observations, the authors discuss the real nature of the activity of the erectile tissue of the corpora cavernosa and spongiosa. Is erection simply produced by passive injection of spongy tissue? Or is erectile tissue like a real live "sponge" which is capable, on its own, of producing and eliminating erection? If this is the case, where is the intra-tissue motor apparatus located? A new hypothesis is proposed.

[Injections into the corpora cavernosa. The pros and cons].

The authors summarize five years' experience of the therapeutic, diagnostic and physiological research use of intra-cavernous injection of vasoactive drugs, particularly papaverine and dipyridamole.

[Peyronie's disease. Our therapeutic experience. Apropos of 182 cases].

182 patients with Peyronie's disease have been treated over the last 18 years. The aetiology of this disease remain a mystery, but its slow progression over time and its spontaneous tendency towards improvement in a number of cases suggest the need for cautious treatment, essentially based on psychotherapy and the prescription of vitamin E, with surgery reserved for the rare very severe cases.