REVIEWS   

Minerva Medicolegale 2001 September;121(3): 159-70

Copyright © 2001 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Medico-legal evaluation of male sexual permanent impairment

Robino C.

Among the various typologies of personal damage, the impairment of male sexual function lends itself with difficulty to medico-legal evaluation on the basis of standardized percentages. Actual detriment to the injured party's health results from the interaction between sexual impairment and complex social and personal factors. The notion of sexual activity itself, along with its possible prejudice, in recent years has undergone radical rethinking by both jurists and the public opinion. The growing interest in organic sexual dysfunction, that leads to frequent occasions for medico-legal evaluation, is accompanied by constant progress in diagnostics and therapy. Clinical, diagnostic and therapeutical criteria in erectile dysfunction and male infertility are reviewed; an outline is given of the most important schedules of male sexual permanent impairment currently in use in Italy and abroad.