Consensus Panel to first define subtypes of female sexual dysfunction. The literature on the physiology of female sexual response and the pathophysiology of female sexual dysfunction is briefly summarized and implications for evaluation and treatment of female sexual dysfunction discussed. Research on female sexual response and dysfunction has been limited until recently. Neurogenic mediators of female sexual response are as yet undetermined.
Hormones also play a significant role in regulating female sexual function.
Estradiol levels influence nerve transmission and possibly affect sensory thresholds, and estrogens have vasoprotective and vasodilatory effects. Measuring female sexual response in order to evaluate female sexual dysfunction has been difficult in the clinical setting. The most used technique for assessing physiologic changes during female sexual arousal has been photoplethysmography, which alone provides inadequate information. The multi-faceted nature of female sexual dysfunction is distinct from that of the male and its treatment requires both medical and psychosocial evaluation. Whether sildenafil or other vasoactive agents used for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction will be predictably effective in women remains to be seen.