Physiological assessment of male sexual function

SummaryThere has been a long-standing interest in the assessment of male sexual function. Naturally, this interest has typically focused on the evaluation of the erectile response itself. As our understanding of the male arousal response has expanded, the techniques to assess physiological sexual arousal have also grown in number, beginning with the measurement of external, visible changes in the penis such as measurement of penile circumference or rigidity to direct internal processes like penile hemodynamics, and neurophysiology. The current article is not meant to be an exhaustive one, rather it focuses on the tools that have traditionally been used, and those currently used, both in the laboratory and clinical setting to assess typical and atypical arousal responses in men. Genital thermography is also discussed as a potential tool that has re-emerged as a method of assessing physiological sexual arousal.