The structure of these organs may be so destroyed by a bruise, as to occasion impotence. This was formerly the mode adopted in the oriental courts for destroying masculine efficiency in the attendants of the Haram; and it is said that the Algerines, who are unwilling to castrate their horses, have recourse to this process, in order to render them incapable of procreation;[[300]] while it is well known that Park-keepers, who have the management of deer, annul the power of generating in bucks, by squeezing the testicles forcibly, and thus destroying their organization and secerning faculty.[[301]] Atrophy and wasting of the testicles may also result from local injury; Dr. Pihorel[[302]] relates an interesting case of this kind that occurred to an old soldier.
The body of the testicle is liable to many diseases, by which its structure becomes so changed, and its delicate organization so obliterated, that its secreting powers are entirely lost, such as schirrus, cancer, scrofula, &c. but we are to remember that such affections, if confined to one testicle, are not to be considered as affecting the virility of the party. M. Larry, Inspector General of the French Army, informs us that a disease which he calls Atrophy of the Testicles seized many of the troops in their return from Egypt; by which these organs became soft to the touch, and gradually diminished in size, without any pain; and it is well known that persons who are afflicted with Elephantiasis lose all sexual appetite, and that their genitals waste.
An organic fault similar to that which we have described, as relating to the Epididymis of the testicle, sometimes occurs in the Vesiculæ Seminales, where instead of entering the urethra, they terminate, after being joined by the Vasa Deferentia, in imperforated pouches, or cul-de-sacs, producing incurable impotence. In some cases the spermatic chord becomes varicose, and is followed by loss of power.
The most common malformation connected with the penis is the unnatural situation of the orifice of the urethra; sometimes it opens in the perinæum, occasionally on the dorsum of the penis, and frequently underneath. Mr. John Hunter was consulted by a person, who expressed great anxiety to have children, but whose urethra opened into the perineum, he therefore recommended him to inject by means of a syringe, previously warmed, the semen into the vagina, post coitum, and during the existence of the orgasmus venereus; the wife, it is said, became pregnant, and Sir E. Home observes, that no doubt was entertained by Mr. Hunter, or the husband, that the impregnation was entirely the effect of the experiment. It would appear that emissio seminis in vaginam is in some cases all that is required for impregnation, and therefore provided the orifice of the urethra be situated in a part of the penis that enters the vagina, any unusual deviation in its direction may not be material; nay farther, in some instances emissio sine penetratione has appeared sufficient;[[303]] many cases are recorded in which the hymen was entire at the time of delivery;[[304]] and Dr. Huxham[[305]] relates an instance of pregnancy, where from the preternatural formation of the female genital organs, it was impossible that the act of copulation should ever have been completed. A contracted state of the Prepuce, or Phymosis, may so interfere with the discharge of the seminal liquor, as to constitute a cause of impotence, (Dyspermatismus Præputialis, Culleni) an operation, however, will always in such cases remove the impediment.[[306]] By some authors the undue dimensions of the penis have been classed under the causes of impotence, but upon this point we would observe that the case already cited from Mr. Wilson, p. 201, clearly shews that exception ought not to be taken against mere diminutiveness[[307]] of structure; extraordinary dimensions in length and thickness may certainly prove a cause of relative impotence; there are besides certain enlargements in the neighbouring organs which may afford obstacles to the venereal congress, as remarkable obesity,[[308]] scrotal hernia, and hydrocele.
It has been a question to what extent the penis might be mutilated, without the extinction of virility: repeated instances have occurred where the glans has been lost, and yet the individual has retained his faculty of procreation. Piazzoni[[309]] relates a case where both the corpora cavernosa were destroyed, but as the canal of the urethra was preserved, the person could perform the act of coition without difficulty. Franck[[310]] also states an instance in which so considerable a portion of the penis had been carried away by a musket shot, that when the wound healed, the organ remained curved, and yet it proved adequate to the performance of its functions.
A Paralysis affecting the muscles of the penis is not a disease of very rare occurrence; it may depend upon various injuries of the nervous system, and while it remains, it is unnecessary to say that the penis is incapable of performing those sexual functions for which it is constructed, constituting the Anaphrodisia Paralytica of Dr. Cullen. The continued erection of the penis (priapism) is sometimes the result of morbid irritation,[[311]] and occasions a temporary impotence, (the Dyspermatismus Hypertonicus of Cullen) in consequence of the urethra being so closely shut up by the vigour of the erection, that the powers which throw the semen from the vesiculæ seminales are unable to overcome it; gentle evacuations and a slender diet are the best remedies in such a case. Strictures in the urethra, or morbid affections of the prostate glands, may occasion a similar inconvenience, (Dyspermatismus Urethralis) and we perhaps ought to enumerate extreme costiveness under the same division of the subject.
IN FEMALES.
Adhesion of the Labia may take place in adult women from inflammation; in consequence of which the due secretion of mucus with which these parts are naturally clothed on their internal surface is prevented; or it may arise from the neglect of accidental excoriation. In children the labia frequently cohere in such a manner as to leave no vestige of a passage into the vagina, except at the anterior part for the discharge of urine; the disease, whenever it may occur, is easily and safely removed by the knife.[[312]] In some cases hard labour has given rise to preternatural union of the labia.[[313]]
In cases of ulceration, where due care has not been taken to prevent the surfaces from remaining in contact with each other, the opposite sides have adhered so as to obliterate the passage; Schirrous and steatomatous tumours,[[314]] and polypi may also occupy the cavity of the vagina: in certain cases these may be removed with safety,[[315]] in others some hazard[[316]] will attend the operation. There is sometimes a faulty organization of the vagina itself, it may be too short, and too narrow,[[317]] (Arctitudo.) Inversion or Prolapsus is perhaps one of its most common diseases;[[318]] in some rare instances the passage has been obliterated by the Clitoris, elongated and enlarged in such a manner as to equal the size of the penis, when it constitutes one of those many peculiarities which have been mistaken for an Hermaphrodite.
The membrane called the Hymen has been found of so strong and ligamentous a texture, that it cannot be ruptured, and consequently prevents venereal congress. Ambrose Paré relates the case of a young woman, whose hymen was as strong as parchment, which he was obliged to cut with the scissars, before coition could be effected; a more recent case is recorded in which the density of the membrane was so considerable as to require the application of a trocar.[[319]]