I read; 'Low gravity means that blood doesn't flow throughout the body the same way as on Earth. It will be much more difficult (perhaps impossible) for a male to achieve an erection.' Could this present a problem for astronauts sqad?
I bow down to the answers given by our Google ABers.
Failure to achieve an erection is a big problem on earth, let alone in space as it does indeed depend upon blood flow.However, I am not sure that would be a problem with astronauts, as i cannot see how one could have intercourse or indeed masturbate in a space suit.....;-)
Please indulge me with an anecdote that I heard many years ago concerning erectile dysfunction. In the 60' and 70's the Americans were well ahead of the rest of the world in having erectile dysfunction clinics and treatment by penile injection by a substance call phentolamine was being used.
An American professor was invited to the Royal Society of medicine to give a dissertation on the results of a large study of patients treated by this method and his conclusions.
He stood on the rostrum, spoke to an audience (mixed, but mostly male)for about 45 mins and then finished with:
"And here is one I prepared earlier"
Unzipped his trousers and pulled out a huge erect penis, to the amusement and applause of the audience.
The body's cardio-vascular system is a sealed one with its own regulatory mechanism, which sometimes goes wrong. I cannot think that this particular physical function will necessarily radically change to the point of collapse/disappearance simply because of zero gravity. If that were so, then the function on earth would be dependent on the body's position - prone would be poorer than standing up and standing on one's head would drain away all blood from the feet and legs plus the member in question and collect "above" the waist.
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