Diagnostic value of the penile pulse and blood pressure: a Doppler study of impotence in diabetics.

Penile pulses were palpated and brachial, penile and popliteal pressures were measured with the Doppler technique in 29 normal subjects and in 15 impotent diabetics. The pulses were palpable in all normal subjects but not in 6 diabetics. The penile blood pressure was obtainable in all the normal subjects but not in 2 diabetics. Using the penile pulse data and a comparison of the penile with the brachial systolic pressures, 2 or possibly 3 grades of penile ischemia are definable, providing a measure of pelvic vascular insufficiency.