Corpus cavernosum electromyography: technique and clinical implications

Abstract

Recently, corpus cavernosum EMG (CC-EMG) has been introduced into the diagnostic evaluation of erectile dysfunction. It has been demonstrated that CC-EMG may be a valuable tool in the evaluation of the integrity of the autonomic innervation of the corpus cavernosum. The interpretation and comparison of the recorded data still remains problematic due to a lack of standardization of recording procedures, technical equipment and of data analysis software. The assessment of recorded data was originally performed visually and nonquantitatively, however, more recently, computer-aided analysis of digitized measurements has proved to be more objective, less time-consuming and more reliable. Future efforts should be aimed at creating larger databases and differentiating between the various sources of lesions within the autonomic neural network of the corpus cavernosum.