Impotence, lead and oxidative stress: do they form a serious triangle? II: a histopathological ultrastructural study of cavernous tissue

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to elucidate the histopathological and the ultrastructural changes induced by lead in the cavernous tissue of impotent subjects. For this purpose, the study included 49 male subjects who were categorized into two main groups. Group I [n=34] included impotent males who underwent surgery for penile implants. They were further subdivided according to the blood lead level into 2 subgroups Subgroup 1 [n=18] with acceptable lead level and who suffered of diabetes mellitus and subgroup 2 [n=16] with high lead level. Group II [n=15] included potent males who underwent surgery for penile cancer. Two small samples of cavernous tissue were taken during the operation. One piece was preserved in absolute alcohol to stain lead by the Mallory-Parker stain. The other piece was fixed and stained for electron microscopic study