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NO Effect on Penile Blood Flow and Lower Genitourinary Tract Function

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Book cover Nitric Oxide and the Regulation of the Peripheral Circulation

Part of the book series: Nitric Oxide in Biology and Medicine ((NOBM,volume 1))

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Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is an unstable radical that exists primarily as a gas. For decades, NO was thought to be an environmental contaminant. Highly toxic, it was considered an unlikely candidate as a biological mediator. However, a landmark article by Furchgott and Zawadzki in 1980 described the release of a substance by the endothelial lining of blood vessels that was responsible for the vasorelaxation of smooth muscle in response to acetylcholine. They named this novel molecule endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). Since that time, most authorities have concluded that EDRF is NO (Ignarro et al. 1987; Palmer et al. 1987), however some researchers postulate that EDRF is actually an S-nitrosothiol that acts through NO transfer (Meyers et a1. 1990).

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Authors
  1. Trinity J. Bivalacqua
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  2. Hunter C. Champion
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  3. Philip J. Kadowitz
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  4. Wayne J. G. Hellstrom
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA, 70112-2699, USA

    Philip J. Kadowitz Ph.D.  & Dennis B. McNamara Ph.D.  & 

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Bivalacqua, T.J., Champion, H.C., Kadowitz, P.J., Hellstrom, W.J.G. (2000). NO Effect on Penile Blood Flow and Lower Genitourinary Tract Function. In: Kadowitz, P.J., McNamara, D.B. (eds) Nitric Oxide and the Regulation of the Peripheral Circulation. Nitric Oxide in Biology and Medicine, vol 1. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1326-0_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1326-0_18

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7095-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-1326-0

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