Priapism is defined as an unwanted, persistent, painful erection lasting more than 4 hours.

Priapism is defined as an unwanted, persistent, painful erection lasting more than 4 hours.

• A. Unwanted, persistent, painful erection lasting more than 4 hours
• B. A brief, painless erection lasting less than 1 hour
• C. A normal erection
• D. An erection that occurs only during sleep

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is the clinical definition of priapism. It is an unwanted, persistent, painful erection that lasts longer than four hours. This duration is important because tissue hypoxia and potential damage to the erectile tissue can occur if not treated promptly, making it a medical emergency. Normal erections are temporary, do not persist for hours, and are not typically painful in the same way. Erections that occur only during sleep are part of normal nocturnal phenomena and resolve on their own, not meeting the criteria for priapism. So the description that matches priapism is a prolonged, unwanted, painful erection lasting more than four hours.

The key idea here is the clinical definition of priapism. It is an unwanted, persistent, painful erection that lasts longer than four hours. This duration is important because tissue hypoxia and potential damage to the erectile tissue can occur if not treated promptly, making it a medical emergency. Normal erections are temporary, do not persist for hours, and are not typically painful in the same way. Erections that occur only during sleep are part of normal nocturnal phenomena and resolve on their own, not meeting the criteria for priapism. So the description that matches priapism is a prolonged, unwanted, painful erection lasting more than four hours.