ix days' exposure on a raft, had lost both legs by
gangrene. At the age of sixty-six he was confined to bed by subacute
bronchitis, and during this period his whole penis became gangrenous
and sloughed off. This is quite unusual, as gangrene is usually
associated with fever; it is more than likely that the gangrene of the
leg was not connected with that of the penis, but that the latter was a
distinct after-result. Possibly the prolonged exposure at the time he
lost his legs produced permanent injury to the blood-vessels and nerves
of the penis. There is a case on record in which, in a man of
thirty-seven, gangrene of the penis followed delirium tremens, and was
attributed to alcoholism. Quoted by Jacobson, Troisfontaines records a
case of gangrene of the skin and body of the penis in a young man, and
without any apparent cause. Schutz speaks of regeneration of the penis
after gangrenous destruction.

Gangrene of the penis does not necessarily hinder the performance of
marital functions. Chance mentions a man whose penis sloughed off,
leaving only a nipple-like remnant. However, he married four years
later, and always lived in harmony with his wife. At the time of his
death he was the father of a child, subsequent to whose birth his wife
had miscarried, and at the time of report she was daily expecting to be
again confined.

Willett relates the instance of a horseman of thirty-three who, after
using a combination of refuse oils to protect his horse from gnats, was
prompted to urinate, and, in so doing, accidentally touched his penis
with the mixture. Sloughing phagedena rapidly ensued, but under medical
treatment he eventually recovered.

Priapism is sometimes seen as a curious symptom of lesion of the spinal
cord. In such cases it is totally unconnected with any voluptuous
sensation and is only found accompanied by motor paralysis. It may
occur spontaneously immediately after accident involving the cord, and
is then probably due to undue excitement of the portion of the cord
below the lesion, which is deprived of the regulating influence of the
brain. Priapism may also develop spontaneously at a later period, and
is then due to central irritation from extravasation into the substance
of the cord, or to some reflex cause. It may also occur from simple
concussion, as shown by a case reported by Le Gros Clark. Pressure on
the cerebellum is supposed to account for cases of priapism observed in
executions and suicides b