J Korean Androl Soc.  1991 Dec;9(2):105-110.

The neural mechanism of apomorphine-induced erection: an experimental study by the comparison with electrostimulation-induced erection of the rat model

• Paick JS
• Lee SW

Abstract

The erectile response is the visible end product of a resulting neural, vascular and hormonal cascade. The lack of an adequate animal model of erectile function has slowed the study of the mechanism of normal erection as well as the investigation of pathophysiological factors associated with erectile dysfunction. The rat model of apomorphine(APO)-induced erection is accepted as a rapid reproducible way of observing whether erectile capability is pressent but there are still questions that can be asked about whether an APO erection is same as a physiological erection. We compared the APO-induced erection of sham operated rats and rats that were operated on to ablate cavernous nerves bilaterally. The sham operated rats remained normal in all measured respects. Surgically neurotomized rats yawned normally but had no erection except 3 rats. In nerve electrical stimulation test of the sham operated rats, erectile response was successfully produced by electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerves and the mean intracoporeal pressure was 87.4+/-26.5 mmHg. In cavernous ablation rats erectile response was not produced by electrical stimulation of the pelvic nerves but in 3 cavernous ablation rats that responded to APO erectile response was produced partially and the mean intracoporeal pressure was 44+/-17 mmHg. The erectile behavior in 3 rats might be attributed to leaving accessory cavernous nerve intact during neural ablation procedure. In conclusion, this present study suggests that APO-induced erection is a vascular event primarily mediated via the sacral parasympathetic nerve system like a physiological erection and we think APO-induced erection test can be applied as a standard to define the potency status of a rat.

MeSH Terms

Animals
Apomorphine
Electric Stimulation
Erectile Dysfunction
Male
Models, Animal*
Rats*
Apomorphine