"Peyronie's disease ends up being arthritis of the penis," says Irwin Goldstein, MD, director of San Diego Sexual Medicine and the editor in chief of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

I never thought in a million years that there was such a thing as arthritis of the penis. It is known as Peyronie's disease. Peyronie's disease is quite easily diagnosed after a physical examination of the penis. It is commonly believed that plaque/scarred tissues develop inside the penis and along top of the penis chambers known as the corpora cavernosa. The corpora cavernose runs the vertical length of the penis. The connecting tissue between the corpora cavernosa is called the septum. Peyronie's disease develops following blunt trauma that causes bleeding inside the penis. When the penis is abnormally bumped, directly hit or severely bent the septum is stretch beyond it's capacity.

"If the penis is bent or twisted, it can tear the fibrous tissue casing that surrounds the erection chambers and cause a laceration in the tissue," says Ira Sharlip, MD, spokesman for the American Urological Association and clinical professor of urology at University of California at San Francisco. "When it heals, scar tissue forms, and eventually it forms plaque."

Facts on Peyronie's disease:

1. Peyronie's is not hereditary.
2. It occurs in 3 out of a hundred males.
3. Erection can be painful.
4. Surgery is recommended when long-term deformity prevents sexual intercourse.
5. Peyronie's disease is caused by scar tissue inside the penis.
6. Peyronie's disease can change the shape and size of an erection.
7. 1% of men are diagnosed with this condition.
8. In rare cases Peyronie's disease corrects itself over time.
9. The disease appears in all age groups and races of men. However, white men over 40 are more dominant than other males.
10. Most common treatment is medication, steroids or injections.
    

Peyronie's Disease is named after the Francois de la Peyronie. Who was the personal practioner to Louis XIV of France. King Louis XIV had this penile abnormality and in 1743 Francois de la Peyronie first described the treatment for this disorder. Born in Italy, January 15_^th, 1678 Francois moved with his family to Montepellier, France. During his teenage years he studied philosophy and surgery. In 1695 he earned his diploma as a "barber-surgeon". Driven by desire, he moved to Paris and continued his education under the direction of Georges Mareschal, chief-surgeon of the Hopital de la Charite` and first surgeon to Louis XIV. In 1736 Mareschal died and Francois de la Peyronie took over as first physican.