Combined intracavernous injection and stimulation test or CIS test is the most commonly performed office diagnostic procedure for
erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of ma ...
. It consists of an
intracavernosal injection, visual or
manual sexual stimulation, and a rating of the subsequent
erection
An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, ...
. Neurogenic and hormonal influences are thus bypassed as the status of the blood vessels of the
penis
A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...
is assessed directly and objectively. A rigid erection of more than 10 minutes indicates normal function of
veins
Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated ...
. The same conclusion cannot be made for the function of
arteries
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...
as some men with mild arterial problems can also have the same response.
[Emil A. Tanagho, MD & Jack W. McAninch MD, FACS (ed., 2008), ''Smith's General Urology'', p. 597. Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill]
References
Male genital procedures
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