Penile blood flow scanning with TcO/sub 4/-99m labeled red blood cells after intracorporal papaverine injection

Twenty impotent males were evaluated during early tumescence using TcO/sub 4/-99m-labeled red blood cells. Erections were pharmacologically induced by injecting papaverine directly into the corpora cavernosum. A penile arterial blood flow index and penile venosinusoidal transit time were generated as a function of penile counts normalized to total iliac artery counts. These indices were compared with findings in arteriography and cavernosography and with corporal pressure-flow evaluations. The penile flows scan was a significant predictor of arterial flow and venosinusoidal resistance. Four patterns were identified relating flow and resistance to the cause of impotence. Penile flow scanning may provide an excellent screening examination in evaluating impotence