Sympathetic skin responses from the limbs and the genitalia: normative study and contribution to the evaluation of neurourological disorders.

The autonomic innervation of the limbs and the genitalia was studied by means of electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist and the dorsal nerve of the penis/clitoris and recording of sympathetic skin responses from the hand, the foot, and the perineum. In males, the response was also recorded from the penile shaft following median nerve stimulation. Normative data were obtained from 40 healthy volunteers (20 men and 20 women). The clinical contribution of these tests was investigated in a series of 42 patients referred to our laboratory for urinary and/or sexual disorders. Sympathetic skin responses are helpful in the evaluation of sexual impotence and of disorders affecting the pelvic floor as well as of well-known neuropathies.