Impotence or, more clinically, erectile dysfunction is the inability to develop or
maintain an erection of the penis for satisfactory sexual intercourse regardless of
the capability of ejaculation. There are various underlying causes, many of which are
medically reversible.
Due to its personal nature, the subject has been taboo for a long period of time, and
is the stuff of many urban legends. Since the 1930s, folk remedies have been
advertised widely for the condition. The introduction of sildenafil (ViagraŽ) in the
1990s caused a second wave of public attention, propelled in part by heavy
advertising.
The Latin term impotentia coeundi describes simple inability to insert the penis into
the vagina. It is now mostly replaced by more precise terms.
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