Summary
Although anejaculation is a relatively uncommon occurrence in the general population, over 12,000 new cases are reported annually. Anejaculation may result from spinal cord injury (SCI), retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND), diabetes mellitis, transverse myelitis, multiple sclerosis, or psychogenic disorders. At least 30% of men with this problem are or will be married and many will seek help to remedy their infertile state. The evolution of technique and instrumentation over the least 30 years has made electroejaculation an accessible and acceptable form of therapy. Recent successes in inducing ejaculation by means of rectal probe electrostimulation or vibratory stimulation combined with assisted reproductive techniques, such as zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT), gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), and in vitro fertilization (IVF), have provided these men a means of producing their own biologic offspring.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball L (1976) Electroejaculation. In: Klem WR (ed) Applied electronics in veterinary medicine in animal physiology. C. C. Thomas, Springfield, p 394
Bennett CJ, Seager SW, Vasher EA (1988) Sexual function and electroejaculation in men with spinal cord injury: review. J Urol 139:453
Bensman A, Kottke FJ (1966) Induced emission of sperm utilizing electrical stimulation of the seminal vesicles and vas deferens. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 47:436
Blank W, Batzofin J, Tran C (1990) The use of EEJ and ZIFT to achieve a pregnancy after a major gunshot wound to the abdomen: a unique application. Fertil Steril 54:950
Bors E, Engle ET, Rosenquist RC (1950) Fertility in paraplegic males, a preliminary report of endocrine studies. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 10:381
Brindley GS (1981) Electroejaculation: its technique, neurological implications and uses. J Neurol Psychiatry 44:9
Brindley GS (1982) Deep scrotal temperature and the effect on it of clothing, air, temperature, activity, posture and paraplegia. Br J Urol 54:49
Brindley GS (1984) The fertility of men with spinal cord injuries. Paraplegia 22:337
Chapelle PA, Blanquart F, Puech AJ (1983) Treatment of anejaculation in the total paraplegic by subcutaneous injection of physostigmine. Paraplegia 21:30
Davis A, Ohry A, Rozin R (1978) Spinal cord injuries: male infertility aspects. Paraplegia 15:11
Donohue JP, Foster RS, Rowland RG (1990) Nerve-sparing retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy with preservation of ejaculation. J Urol 144:287
Eckhardt C (1863) Cited by Marshall ME (1961) In: Best CH, Taylor NB (eds) Physiological basis of medical practice, 7th edn. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, p 42
Francois N, Maury M, Jouannet B (1979) Electroejaculation of a complete paraplegic followed by pregnancy. Paraplegia 16:248
Grantmyre JE, Witt MA, Lipshultz LI (1991) Sperm survival after vibratory stimulation (abstract 118). J Urol 145:242A
Griffith ER, Tomko MA, Timms FJ (1973) Sexual function in spinal cord injured patients: a review. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 54:39
Gunn RNC (1936) Fertility in sheep: artificial production of seminal ejaculation and characteristics of the spermatozoa contained therein. Aust Common Council Sci Ind Res 94:1
Guttman L, Walsh JJ (1970) Prostigmin assessment test of fertility in spinal man. Paraplegia 9:39
Halstead LS, VerVoort SM, Seager SWJ (1987) Rectal probe electrostimulation in the treatment of anejaculatory spinal cord injured men. Paraplegia 25:120
Homer PM, Bain J (1986) Ejaculatory incompetence in infertility. Fertil Steril 45:384
Horne NW, Paull DP, Monroe D (1948) Fertility studies in the human male with traumatic injuries of the spinal cord and cauda equina. N Engl J Med 239:959
Lipshultz LI, McConnell J, Benson G (1981) Current concepts of the mechanism of ejaculation: normal and abnormal states. J Reprod Med 26:499
Masters WJ, Johnson VE (1970) Human sexual response. Little Brown and Company, Boston
Masters WJ, Johnson VE (1970) Human sexual inadequacy. Little Brown and Company, Boston, p 116
Murphy JB, Lipshultz LI (1987) Abnormalities of ejaculation. Urol Clin North Am 14:583
Newman HF, Reiss H, Northrup JD (1982) Physical basis of emission, ejaculation and orgasm in the male. Urology 19:341
Perkash I, Martin DE, Warner H (1985) Reproductive biology in paraplegia: results of semen collection, testicular biopsy, and serum hormone evaluation. J Urol 134:284
Peterson I, Stones I (1970) An electromyographical study of the striated urethral sphincter, the striated anal sphincter, and the levator ani muscle during ejaculation. Electromyography 1:23
Potts IF (1957) The mechanism of ejaculation. Med J Aust 1:495
Randolph JF, Ohl DA, Bennett CJ (1990) Combined electroejaculation and IVF in the evaluation and treatment of anejaculatory infertility. J In Vitro Fertil Embryo Transf 7:58
Raymond CA (1987) New use for old method of inducing ejaculation may give hope of fatherhood to some spinal cord injured men. JAMA 258:743
Rowan FL, Howley TF, Nova HR (1962) Electroejaculation. J Urol 87:726
Sarkarati M, Rossier AB, Fam BA (1987) Experience in vibratory and electroejaculation techniques in spinal cord injury patients: a preliminary report. J Urol 138:59
Segawa A (1971) Studies in secretory function of male sexual organs and their accessory glands. Jpn J Urol 4:869
Shaban SF, Oates RD, Lipshultz LI (1988) Experience with rectal probe electroejaculation in 30 patients (abstract P-014). Presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Fertility Society, October
Shellen TM (1968) Induction of ejaculation by electrovibration. Fertil Steril 19:566
Shull GR, Spenkle DH (1980) Retarded ejaculation reconceptualization and implications for treatment. J Sex Marital Ther 6:234
Stemmerman GN, Weiss L, Averbach O (1950) A study of the germinal epithelium in male paraplegics. Am J Clin Pathol 20:24
Stewart DE, Ohl DA (1989) Idiopathic anejaculation treated by electroejaculation. Int J Psychiatry Med 19:263
Stober SL, Fine PR (eds) (1986) Spinal cord injury: the facts and figures. University of Alabama, Press, Birmingham
Thomas RJS, McLeish G, McDonald IA (1975) Electroejaculation of the paraplegic male followed by pregnancy. Med J Aust 2:798
Wheeler JS, Walter JS, Culkin DJ et al. (1988) Anejaculation treated by vibratory stimulation. Fertil Steril 50:377
Witt MA, Grantmyre JE, Lomas M (1991) The effects of rectal probe electroejaculation on sperm function (abstract). Accepted for presentation at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Fertility Society, Orlando, Florida, October 19–24
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Witt, M.A., Grantmyre, J.E. Ejaculatory failure. World J Urol 11, 89–95 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00182035
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00182035