Chronic intermittent priapism.

Priapism is a condition of persistent involuntary painful erection of the penis, not leading to orgasm. The term derives from Priapus, a Greek fertility god who is represented as an ugly man with an enormous and erect penis. In many cases a cause can be found but in others the condition is idiopathic. If it persists for more than 12 hours, it may affect the patient's potency at a later date. A large number of aetiological factors have been reported, the most important causes, as enumerated by Douthwaite (1960), being as follows: