The importance of penile blood pressure in cases of impotence.

It appears that the normal penile systolic blood pressure, as measured by a spectroscopic method, is equal to or greater than the calculated brachial mean blood pressure. A pressure definitely lower than this in impotent patients indicates obstruction to blood flow in the main vessels supplying the penis. On this basis, obstruction to blood flow was identified as a cause of impotence in patients with little other evidence of peripheral vascular disease.