Scarcely a day passes that we do not have some patient inquiring +"What
is Impotence?"+--+"Are Impotence and Spermatorrhoea the same Disease?"+
+Impotency+ (from the Latin words _im_ [not] and _potens_ [to be able]
means a condition of the Sexual Organs in which a man is not able to
beget his species. It may be because he has lost his erectile power (and
this is how it is most commonly understood), or because he has lost all
desire, or lastly, because the +vital fluid+ has become so +weakened+
and +degenerated+ as to have lost its +procreative power+.
Impotence is most common in men past middle age. It may come on as _the
second or third stage of Spermatorrhoea_, or it may develop slowly or
suddenly _without any symptoms of Spermatorrhoea_. It may be accompanied
by various +nervous+ and +exhausting+ symptoms, or these may be _wholly
absent_. If vital fluid is being lost, and the Impotence is due to the
weakness thus caused, +nervous exhaustion+ is sure to come sooner or
later.
Impotence and Spermatorrhoea may exist together in the same person.
Many impotent men have no other bad symptoms than simply this failure of
the +sexual organs+ to respond when called upon. The trouble in these
cases usually lies in the erectile muscles, which are +weakened+ or
+paralysed+, and in the +nervous bulbs+ or +ganglia+, that are blunted
or exhausted.
A perfectly healthy man should be able to beget his species until he is
+at least+ 80 years of age. Instances of such power at the age of 97 are
on record. In these days of +exhaustion+, +early decay+, +excesses+ and
+abuse+, most men begin to lose their power at or before 40. This is not
right, and can +certainly+ be remedied by proper treatment.