Forensic Medicine: Sexual Dysfunction
Medico-Legal Definitions & NEET PG Pearls
1. Key Definitions
- Impotence (Erectile Dysfunction): Inability to perform sexual intercourse. Can be physical (anatomical) or psychological (psychogenic).
- Sterility: Inability to procreate (inability to fertilize/conceive). A sterile person may be potent; an impotent person may be fertile.
- Frigidity: Lack of sexual desire or inability to achieve orgasm in females (now clinically termed Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder).
- Quod erat demonstrandum (Q.E.D.): Often used in medical notes to mean “which was to be demonstrated”—ensure your forensic reports are strictly evidence-based and objective.
2. Comparison Table
| Condition | Forensic Significance |
|---|---|
| Impotence | Ground for divorce or annulment of marriage. |
| Sterility | May be a ground for divorce if concealed (fraud/misrepresentation). |
3. NEET PG High-Yield Pearls
- Morning Erection: The presence of morning erections (nocturnal penile tumescence) is a pathognomonic sign of psychogenic impotence (suggesting the organic pathways are intact).
- Types of Impotence:
- Potentia Coeundi: Capacity for intercourse.
- Potentia Generandi: Capacity for procreation.
- Sterility Assessment: Requires semen analysis (sperm count, motility, morphology) in males and ovulation/tubal patency studies in females.
- Legal Note: In civil law, impotence must be “incurable” to be a valid ground for divorce in many jurisdictions.