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Introduction to Sexual Medicine

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The Textbook of Clinical Sexual Medicine

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Abstract

Sexual medicine is a field of medicine that focuses on sexual function and dysfunction. Sexual health is a fundamental aspect of physical and emotional well-being. Studies showed that approximately 43% of women and 31% of men suffer from some form of sexual dysfunction. The most commonly experienced male sexual disorder is premature ejaculation; in females it is female sexual interest/arousal disorder. Other common dysfunctions are erectile disorder and female orgasmic disorder. In 2013, the DSM-5 was released, recategorizing, condensing, and redefining sexual dysfunctions. Propensity for sexual dysfunction can be heightened by biological, psychological, social, and environmental risk factors including diabetes mellitus, excessive alcohol use, hormone imbalances, trauma such as sexual assault, depression, tobacco use, spinal cord injury, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic illnesses. Treatment needs to integrate biological and psychosocial interventions including hormonal treatments (such as testosterone, estrogen), pharmaceutical treatments (such as PDE-5 inhibitors), surgical (such as penile implants), devices (such as vacuum devices), psychotherapy, and sex therapy. Sexual medicine is evolving, expanding, and advancing with recent strides in pharmacology, psychology, and relationship counseling, while focusing on the couple as the central hub for treatment is essential to a healthy sex life. Given the multifactorial aspects of sexual relationships, the implementation of the biopsychosocial model is vital to encompass the psychological, emotional, physiological, and social components of sexual function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Katerina A. Furman

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, USA

    Bret Becker

  3. Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Waguih William IsHak

  4. David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Waguih William IsHak

Authors
  1. Katerina A. Furman
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  2. Bret Becker
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  3. Waguih William IsHak
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Correspondence to Waguih William IsHak .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Waguih William IsHak

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Furman, K.A., Becker, B., IsHak, W.W. (2017). Introduction to Sexual Medicine. In: IsHak, W. (eds) The Textbook of Clinical Sexual Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52539-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52539-6_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52538-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52539-6

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