Treatise on Andrology and Sexual Medicine by Dr. Cruz
This treatise includes a text in Spanish which is updated Andrology knowledge and it is a result of the effort of many professionals, friends, and colleagues. It is an ambitious project developed thanks to the generous contributions of many different authors who develop Ibero-American Andrology. It is aimed especially at helping doctors, biologists and other health professionals in training. And is of great value to residents, medical specialists and all personnel involved in the care of patients in the field of Sexual Medicine and Human Reproduction who wish to complete or update their training.
Its contents are grouped into two volumes to facilitate reading. The first of them is composed of a chapter of historical introduction on the Ibero-American Andrology as well as four sections devoted to Pediatric Andrology, Male Sterility, Male Contraception, Sexual Identity Disorders, and Sex Reassignment.
The second volume describes aspects related to erectile dysfunction, disorders of ejaculation and desire, female sexual dysfunctions, morphological alterations of the penis (small penis, enlargement, penile curvature), and a series of urological problems related to Andrology (prostate, incontinence, cancer, etc.).
This treatise acquires special meaning and interest as an authentic multidisciplinary compilation and updating exercise since it is materially impossible nowadays to master all the aspects related to these areas of study. Even the specialists dedicated exclusively to them are overwhelmed by the vast amount of information published.
The 126 chapters it comprises testify to the advances in the field of Andrology, which, until the 1980s, was a part of Urology (and, therefore, of Medicine) with minimum weight, both scientific and healthcare. Its growth has been exponential for the appearance of basic advances in the knowledge of physiology and Physiopathology of erection, ejaculation, and of the reproductive function of the male. Focusing on erection, it has been less than 30 years since its neurovascular mechanisms were known, with the subsequent development of a better etiological diagnosis for erectile dysfunction.
Similarly, various therapies that have become the subject of enormous media attention have been developed. You may recall the impact of the launch of Viagra® on the market. On the other hand, the interest in this pathology and the therapeutic demand have been growing rapidly, due to increasing demand for better sexual health and a rejection of previous beliefs.
The absence of a rigid, normal erection is a huge loss for the male and, although with less emphasis, for his partner; and this is experienced with anguish that is greater in younger patients. Epidemiological studies have confirmed the enormous prevalence of dysfunction, both erectile and ejaculatory. At present, knowing that erectile dysfunction is in most cases, a vascular alteration, this pathology can serve as a general endothelial marker. In this way, it would alert us to possible risks to be avoided in these patients, enabling early diagnosis and treatment. The dysfunction would act like the little bird that alerted coal miners to the risk of explosion with gray gas. Disorders related to ejaculation also represent a pathology of enormous prevalence.
In recent times, it has served as a focus for medical and pharmacological care, with the development of new and effective drug therapies. But, in addition to male sexuality and its disorders, the male role in human reproduction constitutes a large percentage of the work. Despite the advent of sophisticated methods of assisted reproduction, we have undergone a revolution and a balance against our medical role in the study and treatment of the infertile couples. The urologist-andrologists can only vindicate our mission and value, while the correct management of the malefactor greatly improves the future expectation of the couple and the percentage of successes achieved. This illustrates the need to review the current state of the male reproductive physiology and pathophysiology, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic management, which must be implemented without forgetting the current techniques of assisted reproduction.
The treatise, when written in Spanish, facilitates its distribution among the extensive community of Spanish-speaking professionals interested in Andrology. Finally, the authors of the chapters represent a broad spectrum of the various working groups of our country and the Hispanic world. .