Penis fracture is defined as rapture of the membrane of the bulging cavernous structures of the penis. Luckily this injury is not that often but when it happens it should be treated seriously and it is no wonder why doctors consider it as a emergency situation. This injury happens while the penis is erected.

There are many reasons why penis fracture happens. Unexpected blunt trauma or abrupt bending of the penis while it is erected, can lead to rupture of the membrane that surrounds the cavernous bodies of the penis. The injury might be even worse if both cavernous bodies are broken and the urinary tube too. In most cases this injury happens during the sexual intercourse while the female is on top of her partner. Of course there are other reasons for this injury to happen like masturbation, mechanical injuries or any other shock on an erected penis. In extremely rare cases this injury can happen while sleeping, because unconsciously people can have an erected penis and try to turn around in their sleep.

In order to understand the injury better we should look at the structure of the penis. The penis consists of three parts – root, body and head. All these parts are growing when they are aroused due to increased flow of blood. The penis is innervated by left and right dorsal nerves and pudendal nerves. Blood supply comes from the inner pudendal arteries.

When the penis is not erected there are almost no chances for injury of this kind because of its flexibility. When the penis gets hard erection and its elasticity is much lower. For example, during the transition from normal state to erection, the membrane gets a lot tighter (from 2 mm it goes to 0,25 mm) practically loosing almost all of its flexibility. Due to this thinning and inelasticity, blunt trauma or bending of an erected penis can cause penis injury much easier. A sudden increase in pressure in the corpus cavernosum in these cases can quickly destroy the membrane.

Penis fracture can be easily spotted because it has clear symptoms. Like we have said before, in most cases men get injured when they pull the penis out the vagina during the sexual intercourse while the women are in a dominant position. On the way out the penis can hit the tailbone and this is why penis fracture happens. Penis fracture is always painful but depending on the seriousness of the injury the pain can vary from mild to extremely strong. Penis fracture can be noticed by the appearance of the penis which is usually swollen, deformed, unusually bended and discolored.  Many doctors suggest early surgical intervention for treatment of penis fractures. The patient stays at the hospital for at least 10 days and after that can proceed with the treatment from the comfort of his home. Usually antibiotics and analgesics are prescribed.  The penis should be healthy after a while but erectile dysfunction and penis bending are possible.