Episode 4 - Excessive Venery, Masturbation and Continence

Welcome back to the Forgotten Library, where today we’re going to delve into an old medical textbook. There is a veritable treasure trove of these online for your horrified or befuddled reading pleasure. Back in episode 1, I took you through what a young girl ought to know. This selection might be more aptly titled What a Young Doctor Ought to Know (and still be grossly misinformed).

The actual title of this work is Excessive Venery, Masturbation and Continence: the etiology, pathology and treatment of the diseases resulting from venereal excesses, masturbation and continence. Lots of medical terminology in this treatise, some of it outdated. I try to educate as well as entertain, and you’re definitely going to get heaping helpings of the former with this one.

Excessive Venery was first published in 1884 (but went through several reprintings until approximately 1907) by one Joseph W. Howe. Not much is really known about him today; according to his own summary, he was the author of several other medical books, was a professor of clinical surgery at Bellevue Hospital, member of several surgical and philosophical societies, and was a consultant for treatment of diseases of the mouth and throat. Hmm, that’s about as far one can get from the genitals, but according to these rogues, EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, was connected, as you shall soon see for yourself.

Onanism, an alternative term for masturbation, derives from Onan, a Biblical personage who is a minor character, if you will, in the canon, but had quite the reverberating effect across time and history. If you don’t know that story, here’s a quick recap: Onan had a brother named Er, who died. Their father told Onan that he must now enter a levirate marriage with his sister-in-law, Tamar, and give her a child. This was common practice at the time and still occurs in certain cultures today. There are many reasons why – inheritances, protection, etc. What’s important to the story here is, if Onan fathered a son with his sister-in-law, the son would inherit Er’s share of inheritance, leaving Onan completely out of the picture. So, Onan has sex with Tamar, but withdraws and as the text says, “spilled his seed on the ground.” For this, Onan was slain by God because he disobeyed.

Now, it’s unclear from the actual text whether the disobedience was because he refused to do his duty by his sister-in-law, in rebellion against Jewish law, or because he “shed his seed” in vain. According to some Jewish scholars, the seminal loss, no matter what the origin, would make the man impure until he performed the ritual cleansing (which in the case of intercourse, the woman would also have to do). This seems to put doubt on the fact that Onan was murdered because of this, and more likely because he did not obey the other laws and was being selfish about the inheritance.

By contrast, Christian texts focused on the spilling of seed and extrapolated that to mean ANY sexual act that was not for the express benefit of procreation. John Calvin and John Wesley, both Protestant, believed that any waste of semen in a non-procreative act was sinful and soul-destroying.

As discussed in Episode 1, the origins of many of the myths surrounding masturbation can be traced back to the publication of Onania: Or, the Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution around 1712. According to Thomas Laqueur, author of Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation, Onania “not only named but actually invented a new disease and a new highly specific, thoroughly modern, and nearly universal engine for generating guilt, shame and anxiety.” Solitary pursuits were seen as a perversion of the human mind’s natural ways; the imaginative force that god provides should be used for good, not evil, that sort of thing.

The next work of vast importance was L’Onanisme by Samuel Tissot, a Swiss physician, in 1760. Tissot was under the impression that semen was an essential oil and stimulus, and that the loss of one ounce of it was equivalent to the loss of forty ounces of blood. Such loss would result in maladies as varied as blurred vision, bloody urine, and gout, among others. Having such personages as Kant and Voltaire in his corner, this misinformation spread to the rest of the medical community and outward.

Now, you might be thinking, intercourse is the same expenditure of energy; and indeed, the medical minds of the time did differ a bit on the deleterious effects of one versus the other. However, for the most part, it seems that masturbation was the more maligned activity, as it was unnatural and therefore, immoral. As Engelhardt puts it in his chapter of Meaning and Medicine: A Reader in the Philosophy of Health Care, the development of the concept of masturbation as a disease unto itself was “influenced by a concurrent inclination to translate a moral issue into medical terms.”

There are many more examples and historical tidbits we could get into, and I will sprinkle some of them through the rest of this episode as we dive in. In the interest of time, however, let’s get to the book!

[break]

The preface of Excessive Venery tells the reader that this book was originally formulated as a series of lectures, as well as the good doctor’s own personal experiences and quotations from his contemporaries. This book was meant for a medical student, I presume, based on the terminology he uses further down.

Chapter 1 – General Considerations. No one is teaching young people about sexual matters, and this is a problem. The health and happiness of the human race depends on teaching such things prior to puberty. Physicians are the only professional people who can SEE the importance of such a matter, especially teaching against the “ignorant assaults on the genital organs.” Very few can see the difference between the false side of life, or the real suffering due to bad habits, and while a little advice from a well-meaning parent, or a teacher, can be all the help one needs to avoid such situations, the doctor is the BEST suited for this task, solely because he’s a doctor. Already, I can hear his ego inflating.

The doctor finds it a sad commentary on life that married men and women had no knowledge of sexual matters prior to their wedlock. The marriage might not have been consummated for several days, while the newlyweds tried out strange positions that definitely would not work! And then, horror of horrors, they would not know the difference between temperance and excess until their nerves were frayed, their bodies enfeebled, and then would they seek advice from their olders and betters, only to find that it was too late. Of course, Dr. H must mention that this sort of ignorance pertains more to women than men, but his point remains the same.

To offer food for thought, he gives us this anecdote (which I will relate with modern, non-medical terminology). While on holiday in the Adirondacks, he visited a patient in a hotel who was slowly dying from tuberculosis. When he examined him, he found an abscess on his perineum, which is the actual medical term for “taint,” and a congenital defect wherein his foreskin was too tight on the head of his penis, which meant it couldn’t be fully retracted, and therefore, became inflamed. So, what did the good doctor have to do? CUT IT OPEN. But the important point is what the lad said to him later, when he had had some relief. If he’d only been told about his sexual organs, and what was normal, and what was not normal, why, he’d be healthy in his middle age, not dying from consumption! The blame lies with his parents, of course, for, when he was younger, he had very painful erections that kept him up all night, and when he asked his father where he could go for relief, his father just laughed and told him it was normal. So, what did this young man finally do? Masturbate. Masturbate, masturbate, and masturbate some more, skipping his way down that road of Solitary Vice. Which of course, was a gateway drug to whores, and now he had tuberculosis. If he’d only known his problem could have been cured by a simple operation!

So, what the doctor proposes is what people should really do now, in modern times. Explain to children about sexual matters, to their level of understanding, from when they are very young. Of course, he’s proposing to LIE to kids about masturbation causing health defects, but his heart is in the right place, I guess . . . “Fear is an essential element of controlling the precocious.” Okay, I take that back. He’s an asshole. He advises that children should not be made to wear tight clothing, especially at night, as it might become an irritant to the genitals and cause the child to rub them for relief.

Dr. H. quotes a member of the clergy, who agrees with his sentiment about teaching children early, particularly about avoiding “meddling with his secret parts” and therefore weakening the energy that God has ordained for him only to expend within marriage. People will know of his sin, if he’s whaling away on his dork, you can be sure of that! Especially since it will be visited upon his children. No one ever says how one WILL know that someone was a chronic masturbator, solely by looking at his children . . . Procreation, not pleasure. Procreation, not pleasure. Once you go down that road, you’re sure to have your mind constantly on it, and nocturnal emissions are your fate. Your health will deteriorate, and frankly, you’re screwed: blind, dim-witted, and feeble.

Dr. Howe quotes another man, by the name of Mr. Acton, who believes that schoolmasters should definitely keep a close, careful eye upon the young men in their care, so that they will best be able to know when the boys are falling under the spell of the penis. Also, to make sure that the older boys are not attaching themselves to a younger boy, for a more-than-friendship. Dr. H. does not believe that the schools are as rampant with immorality as this man says, but he does believe that young men should be given the right advice, and the rest depends on the young man’s natural manliness. And what if that “natural manliness” develops into a monster appendage? No advice is given.

Chapter II – The Genital Apparatus. Now we must examine the organs to which these vices pertain, so that we may study them first in their normal state, before morbid changes occur due to “unnatural” behavior. He lists the various genital components for males and females, and how they are all connected.

In addition to the penis, he claims that ovaries also have erectile tissue. That would be wrong. How did they think that worked, anyway? He gets into insanely medical terminology about how the penis’ component parts work, and I’m going to presume that that’s right, otherwise we will be here all day. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for that.

In the midst of describing the organs and their functions, he makes sure to provide details of the consequences of jacking it. Do it too much, and the head of the penis becomes less sensitive, and your foreskin will fall backward and get wrinkly. (Of course, he presumes that every male is uncircumcised; Jews don’t count). Also, the veins of the penis become enlarged, and the skin yellows and wrinkles. Your prostate gland will also be affected; if the doctor can press on it and get fluid to come out, you will be marked as a chronic case (or they could just be constantly straining on the toilet, which results in the same thing). Your testicles will become soft and flabby, hardly what one could consider “healthy.”

Women do not escape Dr. H’s wrath, either. Here we have the first mention of women using household objects for masturbatory use, as well as objects made specifically for such an activity. Of course, he does not condone any of that. In women, the reasons for not masturbating are also extensive: the clitoris will become less sensitive, or even hypersensitive, and it will become elongated and hang down over the front of the vulva. The inner lips will hang out over the outer lips; he claims to have seen a hospital case wherein the labial lips resembled a spaniel’s ears! And if one is a virgin, the hymen will not close as tightly as it does in “healthy” women who don’t dare to indulge in such sinful self-pleasure.

Chapter III – The Seminal Fluid and the Mechanism of Erection. Exactly that is discussed. Nocturnal emissions are normal, to a point. If you’re having them more than once a week, that means the organ is too relaxed, presumably because you masturbate or have sex too much. He allows that women also can have these sorts of “wet dreams;” however, unless it’s during sex, any orgasmic event a woman has is unhealthy. Because obviously, women are only supposed to be sexual when their husbands require it, and at no other time.

Sometimes, men are secreting other fluids that they are led to believe are seminal fluid. And if he’s been masturbating, some quack doctors will prey upon his anxiety and confirm for him that it’s definitely approaching impotence. Having some opaque, weird discharge? That’s probably gonorrhea. If mucus is coming from the urethra, it means you’ve been having too much sex under the influence of alcohol. Chylous urine is a condition where urine is milk-white; all he says is that it’s more frequent in tropical climates, but that’s because chyluria, as the condition is known, is caused by a parasite, specifically Wuchereria bancrofti. Wuchereria bancrofti is a type of roundworm spread by mosquitoes, particularly in parts of Africa, Asia, and even South America. Left untreated, it causes elephantiasis, severe swelling in one’s extremities.

From here, the doctor moves on to the nerve centers of the body that control the erections. He talks at length about the cerebellum, and what happens when it’s removed. If there are tumors or blood clots in it, it causes nymphomania (female) or satyriasis (male). The size of the cerebellum does not correlate with the size of one’s sexual appetite, however.

To conclude the chapter, he compares blushing to erection. A rush of blood to the “head,” indeed.

Chapter IV – Spermatorrhea and Impotence. What is spermatorrhea? Essentially, excessive involuntary ejaculation. The term was first coined in 1836 by a French physician named Claude François Lallemand in his multi-volume work Des Pertes Seminales Involontaires. Despite the term referring to involuntary ejaculation, Lallemand perpetuated the idea that Howe repeats here, that it is caused by frequent masturbation, as well as sexual excess, “mental emotion,” nerve diseases, drugs, and diseases of the rectum, urethra, penis, or testicles. This ushered in a bit of a panic in the 19th century, with many men believing that they were losing their health and vitality. Spermatorrhea was also thought to be a contributing factor to tuberculosis and also derangement, which could be further passed to the affected man’s offspring.

Many quack doctors capitalized on this panic and sold all sorts of treatments claiming to help with the disorder. As for Lallemand, his treatments included: inserting catheters into the urethra, driving needles into the perineum, and injecting silver nitrate into the urethra as a method of cauterization. They also sold devices in the shape of rings with teeth that were meant to be worn on your member at night. Think pure thoughts, lads, else you’ll find yourself all bloodied and jagged on the morrow!

Getting back to Dr. Howe, he quotes a bunch of medical men since the dawn of time on the subject of spermatorrhea. They mostly seem to agree with him, except for one Hamilton McGraw of Detroit, who says, “I do not believe that even a daily emission of semen will do serious damage to a healthy vigorous man.” Howe counters this by saying that few physicians of “experience” would concur, which I assume is his way of politely saying that McGraw doesn’t know shit. It’s interesting that McGraw seems to be the only person with any sense here, that isn’t in some sort of moral brigade.

“Masturbation is a universal vice in civilized countries.” Regardless of its status, many people of both sexes begin to indulge in early childhood. Among the savages, it’s rare, for they live amongst nature, and have no moral code. Therefore, they’ll just drop trou whenever the urge strikes them. Wait, they probably don’t even have trousers, because they’re heathens and are not ashamed of their naked bodies and strut about proudly. In short, the savage lands are full of creatures giving into their animalian lusts. However, some animals have been found masturbating, such as dogs, cats, monkeys, and rats, which the doctor finds odd, as they have immense sexual outlet among their species. Obviously, a depraved human being must have taught these animals the Solitary Vice.

Many more animals than Dr. Howe named have been known to indulge in solitary pleasures, including walruses, turtles, birds, and squirrels. And these animals have been observed in both wild as well as clinical settings, so . . . I highly doubt his bullshit statement.

Children begin this filthy habit at a very early age. Supposedly, some have said they have noticed babies at the breast masturbating; these allegations must be taken with a grain of salt, as such strange movements were probably due to worms or some irritation of tender bits. However, Dr. H knows as a FACT that nurses will sometimes excite infant’s genital regions in order to keep them quiet. “Thus the seeds of a loathsome disease are often sown.” Yeah, on the part of the NURSE, not the child. Once again, these people seem to be focused on the wrong issue.

As the child gets older, he or she remembers the pleasure of those infantile moments, and thus commences his or her own recreation of the events leading to that pleasure. From age 8 to age 16 is probably the time when they indulge most. At 16 or a little later, they are likely to be “scared straight,” by either reading something regarding its evils (such as his book, perhaps?), or friends will warn him or her, or perhaps the spectre of their own decay will cause them to cease.

Who is to blame for teaching the children? The aforementioned nurses, or their own peers. Parents must examine their children’s naughty bits from time to time, to ensure that they are not being manhandled. Boys will have their foreskins loosened, and girls will have really red labia. Something must be done about these horrid nurses, who encourage little children to play with themselves.

Even gymnastics can be blamed for sexual self-experimentation. He recounts a story told to him by a young man who discovered some sort of swinging pole in the gym, by which one hangs by the hands and swings around it. Apparently his naughty bits began to be stimulated by just barely touching the pole, and subsequent touchings caused an orgasm. Therefore, he became a chronic masturbator, and it’s all because of gym! Which is why such activities should not be allowed by boys under eighteen.

Where one works is also liable to have an effect on whether you introduce rosy palm and her five daughters; working in a store or a factory, where you will not be able to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine, is sure to make you into a masturbator. No one pumps his fist over his penis in broad daylight, in the elements!

While masturbation is bad for both sexes, it is less so for females. Also, girls can hide it better, presumably because men would just write off any excited tendencies as some nervous “woman’s complaint.” There is no telling mark, necessarily, at least at first; however, if one has been playing with their organ for most of their life, you will notice the ravages in their face, and their sunken eyes, which refuse to meet yours. Uneducated people might think that there are no ill effects from masturbation, but they would be wrong, for it makes its mark on the genitals.

The penis will be thinner and smaller “than usual.” But, how would one know what the “usual” is, unless they’ve made examination of that particular penis before? It will be elongated and cold to the touch at various points. The “head” will be much bigger than the rest of the organ, due to frequent handling. In many patients, their penis has been bent from their exertions; this happens if you start messing with yourself before puberty. The scrotum hangs lower than it should, and as mentioned earlier, the testicles will be soft. Even the urethra and prostate do not remain unchanged; they become swollen and leak fluids.

In women, as stated before, the labial lips become distended, as does the clitoris. The Bartholin glands, which produce the secretions, will also be enlarged, and upon a physical examination with one’s hand, it will increase the secretions and expand the clitoris. To this, I say, NO SHIT.

Even though the doctor mentioned that for most people, the mark of masturbation will not necessarily show in their face, one can see in other organs of the body the practice of vice. For example, the veins on the top of the feet and hands are enlarged or dilated overmuch. He allows that sometimes this happens in those with thin skin, particularly the elderly; however, when it occurs in young people, it’s because of masturbation. Other signs? Moist, clammy hands; stooped shoulders; sitting with one’s hands in-between one’s thighs; flabby muscles; sallow, pale skin; and emaciation. Even acne could be a warning sign, but that could be an independent problem.

Chronic masturbators also suffer from a coated tongue and constipation. The latter is due to lack of muscle tone in the bowels. Vertigo, sleeplessness and dementia must also be considered. Well, that pretty much covers everyone. You are all sinful, sinful people.

Chapter V – Results of Sexual Excess and Mental Emotions. While sex in excess is bad, it is not as bad as masturbation, for sex is natural, and masturbation is not. Even if the man expends his sexual energy in intercourse several times a week, ill effects will not be felt, for this is a natural and healthy thing to do, and the man will feel satisfied by his sexual congress, especially as “the expenditure of nerve force is compensated by the magnetism of the partner,” which means . . .what exactly? He claims that “there is some return of that nature, which prevents injury.” I’m going to go out on a limb here and suppose that he means each person during the sexual act is giving their energy and the other one feeds off of it, whereas the same amount of energy expended in masturbation is deleterious, for the act itself is degrading, and insulting to manhood. The masturbator knows this, and therefore, participates in the ill effects visited upon his person and his penis. Of course, if sex is making you feel like this, then you must stop doing it so much, for it clearly is too much for your person.

Apparently, in Acton’s view (that guy who thought all the boys at school are vastly immoral), conception can’t take place during the first few months of marriage, as the couple will be having sex more frequently, thereby lessening their chances. Some men have epileptic seizures at the point of orgasm; so does the rabbit. A quick review of the literature shows that actual seizures are relatively rare – in people who do not already have epilepsy, that is; however, recent studies have also shown that the amount of brain activity that occurs during an orgasm is equivalent TO an epileptic seizure, especially in women. Take from that what you will.

Napoleon I, also, suffered from a seizure every time he participated in sexual intercourse. [It cannot be known if it was EVERY time, but apparently, Napoleon did suffer from epileptic seizures, which, according to a reading of evidence by Dr. Hughes, were caused by his contracting gonorrhea from Empress Josephine; this caused strictures in his urethra and finally led to this problem. Although, let’s be honest, dude had a LOT of problems]. Epilepsy can result in death, and indeed, there are many cases of men who have died after copulation. Acton then cites a third guy, named Burmeister, about termites (!): after the hot season, the male and female termites come together and indulge in sexual congress; afterwards, the male immediately dies, but the female is impregnated with thousands of eggs.

Now, back to Dr. Howe. Prior to spermatorrhoea, impotence occurs, because of sexual excess. The two symptoms are always seen together. Most of the time, it results in a man completely unable to have sex. Here’s what happens: guy ejaculates prematurely. He stops having sex for a bit, and begins to have nocturnal emissions. So, he starts having sex again, only to find he is once again a premature ejaculator, which depresses him. Lather, rinse, repeat, until he becomes completely impotent. The seminal fluid then is discharged with the fecal matter. Horseback riding or similar exercise can also make a man impotent. Usually, these men are robustly healthy – except for what’s in their pants. Not to worry, though – impotence from too much sex has a much better treatment record than that which occurs from excessive onanism. Unless you have brain lesions. Then, all bets are off.

Mental emotions. The mind is not separate from the body, no, sir! It definitively affects the body, many times for worse, not better. We are possessed of powerful imaginations that sometimes will make our lives hell. He is talking expressly of hysteria. For example, he had a patient once that was put next to another patient who was suffering from peritonitis. Within twenty-four hours, the healthier patient was experiencing symptoms of peritonitis without having it, even down to the swollen abdomen! When she was removed to another room, she recovered shortly thereafter. This same patient also exhibited symptoms of an inflamed mammary gland, and some sort of brain softening. These happened at different intervals, the latter a year or so later.

To further illustrate his point, he also discusses a Wall Street broker who had suffered severe monetary losses, which essentially made him neurotic. He slept badly and was distressed at all hours of the day. Then he read in a paper about a man falling down in a fit in the middle of the street and dying. This caused WallStreet to not want to leave the house and was afraid to go out alone, for the same fate might happen to him. This continued for a year before he saw Dr. H. Dr. H’s method was first to argue with him that such a thing was nonsense. He then began to treat his fear with baby steps, making him come out of the house and walk for one block unaccompanied, and so on, until his fear was treated. This is the first sensible thing I have read in this entire book!

So, what is the doctor REALLY driving at? Our emotions affect our body physically, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the genital regions. Mental causes definitely play a factor in all cases of impotence, even those not resulting from chronic masturbation. Anything disagreeable can result in a morbid change in the genitals, but particularly, fear of failure. The first failure causes the second, and so on, and so on. Even others telling you of their failures in this vein can cause it in yours. Why, the doctor has a friend, a lawyer, in excellent health, with two children who read in a medical journal about impotence befalling even healthy people, and what do you know? It caused temporary impotence in him!

Here’s a weird one: he cites someone named Roland, who speaks of a man who was taken by a woman in “full walking costume.” [Think long skirts, long sleeves, the whole shebang]. He had relations with her for a year, in clothes, before moving on to a different woman, and realized he could not have sex with the second woman, unless she was fully clothed while he did the deed.

And of course, we have the madonna/whore scenario. A guy can’t have sex with his wife because she’s too pure and good to “profane” her in such a way, so he goes out and gets whores to service him instead. He goes to the doctor and the doctor tells him he’s supposed to sex his wife, that’s what she’s there for. So the guy tries again, and again sees the doctor, saying it’s no use, she’s too good to be sullied. The doctor then prevails upon himself to see the woman, and tells her to be more “free” with her husband, presumably to act a little like a whore so that he’ll have her. Oh, that strange dichotomy, that will be with us forever.

He details several other cases like this, where mental anguish or other personality issues resulted in temporary impotence. He also recognizes that spermatorrhea is really more of psychosomatic disorder, although that wasn’t a term used at the time. Dr. Howe disagrees with doctors who call it “false” impotence, for it sure is real for the man while it’s happening!

Finally this chapter, gleet. Discharge caused by the clap, or gonorrhea. It causes mental distress as well, which could result, as before, in impotence. A patient of the doctor’s will fail to ejaculate if he notices the gleet-leak prior to the act. Another has problems if he’s sexing his wife, but not if he’s going to prostitutes. Well, that’s because prostitutes are not real people, so it doesn’t matter if you give them diseases.

Chapter 6 – Diseases which result from excess and masturbation. The evils of chronic masturbators shall be visited upon their children. Why? Masturbating affects your sperm, making it weaker and therefore giving rise to a weaker generation. The child’s vitality is impaired before it leaves the womb. This is the cause of rickets, for the doctor has never seen a child with that affliction who did not have a parent who had been/is a chronic masturbator. Other signs of children weakened by the solitary vice of their parents: bad digestion, peevish children who worry lots, and are generally thin, puny, and weak.

Many tubercular children are that way because of the secret sins of their father. He does not include the mother in this, as her role in this is not as easy to detect, and you can’t ask a woman if she plays with herself. The only way to tell is if you can examine her secret parts without arousing her suspicions. The doctor knows for a fact, however, that tuberculosis in children is caused by their parents masturbating, and in teenagers and adults, it is caused by their own masturbatory habits. You know, doctor, you seem to know an awful lot about masturbation! Methinks you sit in your office and pull your pud after work. Of course, tuberculosis has as its main cause a really bad cold that develops into much worse, he says, and that cold was probably caused by poor nutrition, which causes exhaustion and therefore makes one liable to catch cold. However, how would one get that exhausted? SOLITARY VICE! It exhausts your nerve force and weakens your blood, allowing the virus to settle in and make itself at home.

He disagrees with those who say that excessive sexual enjoyments follow tuberculosis diagnosis. Dr. H says that they were there prior to the disease, and were its root cause. He then relates a sad story of a patient who was diagnosed with TB at thirty, and even though it was a very bad case, she did not stop indulging herself in sexual pleasures. Even a day or two before her death, when she was unable to speak or even move, she importuned her husband to have sex with her one last time. Well, if you knew you were going to die, wouldn’t you want to enjoy your last moments?

If you have too much sex, you can still get tuberculosis, but it’s not as traceable to that cause as it is to masturbation. What I want to know is, how the hell does he know? If you examine a person who masturbates daily, and then examine a person who has sex daily, the look of the genitals is going to be the same. So, unless he cowed these people into telling him that they masturbated, there’s no way he could possibly know. I guess no one thought that the tuberculosis epidemic of the time period had something to do with poor heating during winter and lack of good food, not to mention the fact that TB is contagious!

He also blames masturbation for causing epilepsy. Secret vice causes the nervous system to become overexcited. There is no doubt in his mind whatsoever, for he knows that the irritation of the nerve centers in the body is more pronounced in onanists. He relates several cases which supposedly prove his point. Someone named Baker Brown in London, thinking the same thing that Dr. H. does, decided to test his theory, by AMPUTATING THE CLITORISES of several young females suffering from epilepsy. He claims they recovered completely after this operation.

He also had a special case, a chronic masturbator; the doctor tried all manner of things to stop him from touching himself, such as blistering the skin of his penis and scrotum, tying his hands behind his back, and finally tying his hands AND feet to the bedposts. Every time he was released, for bedclothes changes or other reasons, his hands were back at his genitals (or, if they were tied, he would slide around however he could). The doctor eventually sent him to an asylum for the incurable. Now, of course, we have no idea if this man was actually epileptic, but we know for sure that masturbation did not CAUSE his epilepsy. Because that doesn’t happen.

Masturbation causes an enlarged heart and palpitations. Palpitations can occur in other cases, but the enlarged heart is only from choking that chicken. Hypochondriasis? Also caused by excess in genital play.

And epilepsy and hypochondriasis usually result in insanity. Or you can develop insanity all by itself. Insanity among masturbators is more frequent when the person is of below-average intelligence. Persistent loss of memory is the precursor to this disease.

He recounts a case of a studious young man who eventually ended up in an asylum because of his pernicious habits. Which, of course, they’re assuming based upon his change in personality and physical appearance. What seems more likely to me is that the young man was under immense strain and had a nervous breakdown and was perhaps suffering from depression, but the only “nervous” conditions they tended to recognize during this time period were relegated to females. These insanities due to chronic sexual excesses don’t occur in black people, says another doctor by the name of Spitzka, despite their being extremely libidinous. That's racist!

Nymphomania. Only in females, caused by – you guessed it – masturbation. Or sexual excesses. Nymphomania is most likely to occur between ages sixteen to twenty-five. Blondes are more likely to succumb to it than brunettes. Redheads are not mentioned, presumably because they are the devil’s children, and not worth discussing. The woman has an uncontrollable appetite for sexual pleasures, and does not care whether she is in public or who is watching. Her mind is constantly racing with ideas about how to pleasure herself next. She will invent diseases so that she may be probed by a doctor.

A personal anecdote: the doctor had a patient once who was admitted to the hospital because she couldn’t pee. She claimed she had been unable to pee for three days, but this had happened before, and she just needed it drawn out of her. So the doctor inserted a catheter, and only got back a few ounces of urine, not enough to corroborate her story. The next morning, as she hadn’t gone all night, he put the catheter in again; he noticed this time that she seemed to be almost convulsing in excitement. He examined her genitals and found them to be red, swollen, and secreting fluids. He told the nurse to keep an eye on this girl, and indeed, the nurse told him that the girl was exciting herself under the blankets when she thought no one was watching. He gave her a sedative, and told her that she must empty her bladder without help. The girl resisted this instruction for thirty-six hours, but when she had been assured, once again, that no one would be putting a cath in, she finally went. The doctor learned soon after that a doctor-friend of his was treating this patient for her problem, and had advised her to get married.

Marriage is the only cure for nymphomania. Except, of course, for the other cure, which involves excising the clitoris, as previously shown by Dr. Brown, who, apparently, caught flak from his colleagues for using this “treatment” a bit too freely and was rounded dismissed from several prominent London medical societies. Apparently, that spelled the end for Brown, who became destitute and appears to have died from a stroke.

Satyriasis is nymphomania in the male. It is rarer than nymphomania, for men can go to a prostitute and relieve their sexual sufferings, while women cannot. If he understands this, why the hell does he impugn women for it? Oh, right, because of archaic ideas about women, got it. Satyriasis is more likely to occur when men are older, and is the consequence of masturbation, too much sex, brain lesions, or poisonous doses of cantharides (Spanish fly). He relates a story told to him by someone else, of a married man who visits houses of ill repute; he selects two or three of the heaviest girls in the house and then divests himself of all clothing above the waist. He then lies down on the floor and instructs the girls to walk over his chest, neck and face, stopping at points to grind their heels into his flesh. He then purchases wine for them, but does not drink any himself. He sometimes makes one of the girls stand on his chest, balancing on one bootheel, and has the other girl spin her around and around until the heel leaves a wound in his flesh. Hmm, sounds more like a masochist than a nympho to me, but hey, I’m not a doctor!

They also confused homosexuality with satyriasis also. He relates the case of a young man who began to introduce things into his anus at a young age, and then was given over to “pederasty,” taking the passive role while the other man took the active. He then found another young man to whom he could pledge his fidelity to, and they acted like a husband and wife and lived together. The doctor finds this all quite disgusting, of course.

How does one cure satyriasis? If it is caused by brain lesions, it is incurable. Other forms might be corrected by cold baths, sedatives, or applications of ice to the scrotum (hopefully wrapped in a towel).

Asperatism is another disease caused by solitary vice. It is when a man is unable to have an orgasm. It is not permanent, but it can lead to sterility. The doctor says the best cure for this disorder is to abstain from intercourse, while applying a Faradic current daily. Perhaps this is what Peter Gabriel meant when he sang “shock the monkey.”

Chapter 7 – Diseases of the Genitals that Arise from Masturbation and Sexual Excess. One of these diseases is variocele. This is when the veins in the testicles get twisted up somehow. This disorder persists into our modern world and I don’t see what the actual cause is; it just appears to happen in a certain percent of the population, some of whom never have any issues with it. Of course, Dr. Howe knows what it is – masturbation, for the men who present with this have many nocturnal emissions in a week. However, he then brings up the case of a medical student of his acquaintance who had this issue, and he certainly was not the type to give himself up to this vice. So he made him the equivalent of a jockstrap and it worked. Dr. H then proceeds to judge everyone else; the blood vessels become continually dilated from constantly masturbating, and it’s no wonder that eventually it shows!

The first thing to do to treat this is to make the patient stop masturbating; only then can the healing begin. One of the biggest symptoms is constipation, so that should be remedied with BELLADONNA. If that’s too severe, cold water injections should help (I’m assuming he’s politely referring to enemas). Also, be sure to briskly rub the abdomen, as that promotes healthy action of the bowels. Uh oh, sometimes that’s a good, comforting feeling – is that solitary vice, too, doc?

Then he starts to make some sense, with the suspension bandage to elevate the scrotum, and at night to put a cool compress on it to alleviate chafing. Let’s get back to the loony.

If none of the above work, and the patient wants surgery, amputate them nuts. Well, at least, the pendulous flap that hangs down from ’em. Sorry, dudes, I can hear you from here. Those thighs are SHUT.

I’ll be nice and not go into the exquisite detail of how the surgery was performed. All you need to know is that it sounds painful and the patient was laid up for at least three weeks, after which they still had to wear one of those suspensory bandages for a bit longer, until everything healed up. This usually prevents a relapse, especially if in the intervening time the man gets married.

Neuralgia of the testicles is, of course, caused by onanism (WHAT ISN’T?) and makes a man become impotent. He does recognize that this could also be caused by such things as malaria, rheumatism, or an enlarged prostate. Y’know, because all of those things are the same. However, it is pretty rare among married men, so it stands to reason that it’s young pups who keep greasing their hot dogs, for married men never do this.

So what is this disease? It’s where your balls hurt so bad, all day every day, that you want to puke and you run to your doctor and say, “Get ‘im offa me, you gotta! Just rip ’em right off; I’m a man, I can take it!” Or something.

Irritable testicle(s) is the same thing, only in a “milder” form. In so-called healthy people, this is perfectly natural, as it is the effect of ungratified sexual excitement. In dirty, filthy persons, it means you masturbate too much. And I say, again, how the fuck did this “doctor” know the difference? There isn’t one, and god damn it, these people were such big fat liars. To cure the irritability, the suspensory bandage should be used, a cold or hot compress (HOT?!) and perhaps sitz baths. Sitz baths are great; they even cured some dude of impotence! Oh, and wear loose pantaloons. The last few seem sensible, even downright sane, as we come to this one: puncturing your scrotum with a needle and rubbing olive oil into it!

Let me say that again, in case it wasn’t clear without emphasis: MAKE HOLES IN YOUR BALLSACK AND RUB OIL INTO THE WOUNDS! This was advocated as a medically suitable thing to do. Can you imagine if you did this now? “Well, doc, my testicles really, really hurt today, and they have for a while, so I had this great idea. I took a needle and make the pain worse by stabbing myself in one of the tenderest places ever. And, since that wasn’t enough, I grabbed my handy-dandy bottle of olive oil (You know, the one I don’t use for masturbation, heh heh) and just dabbed it on. So, uh, while you’re at it, can you look at my head? I think I might have a concussion.”

In an era before tasers, the good doctor states that sometimes men with this condition could benefit from Faradic currents. That’s right, electrically shockifying your scroat where it already hurts. And when that’s over, and while you’re still moaning in pain, apply a local wash of lead and opium. Or belladonna. You know, whatever poisonous shit you have lying around the house, just slather it on your mucous membranes.

More of the same is suggested for neuralgia of the neck of the bladder, which sounds like a UTI. More currents, sitz, and belladonna.

Sometimes the prostate becomes enlarged, and when the man has clap as well, the “gleety discharge” will stay for a longer period of time. That phrase is killing me. Gleety. Most of this prostate stuff seems accurate from doing a cursory search of medical websites, but now, here come the leeches. They should be applied around the anus for maximum effect, and unless the patient has other medical issues, it should be done without delay!

Chapter VIII – Diseases of the Genitals Associated with Spermatorrhea and Impotence. In this chapter, we begin with phimosis, which is when the prepuce, or foreskin of the penis, will not retract. Now, not being a dude, I had no idea that that’s pretty common until puberty in a number of males. Anyway, it usually doesn’t cause pain, modern doctors say, unless you get an infection from not being able to clean that portion of your penis properly.

Dr. Howe says that the discharge begins and is almost cheeselike, but overtimes becomes dry and hard, which causes males, especially children, to do strange things such as masturbate. Gee, I wonder why? Could it be that they were looking for relief so they kept moving the skin the best way they could? Nah, it’s because they are sinful creatures! Anyway, if it keeps up it makes intercourse hurt and makes the man temporarily impotent. It also sometimes gives men symptoms that affect other areas of the body.

And now, a story, because Dr. H always has plenty of stories. A patient of his, a clergyman, who of course had “good habits” and the like, was having issues with his throat. It took many a minute in the pulpit afore his voice could be heard expounding on the wrath of God and what have you. Everything that had been tried had failed. And for years, the head of his penis ailed him every time he attempted to make it with his wife. So, of course, he stopped trying and was having constant nocturnal emissions, the same old story. When he was examined by the good doctor, he found that the prepuce could not be pushed back. So he circumcised him, putting the patient under an anesthetic, wonder of wonders! In modern, gross slangy terminology, it appears the smegma had accumulated under his foreskin and hardened, so it had to be scraped off. And then the entire portion was dressed with a cloth covered in olive oil! And surprise, surprise, when the clergyman returned to the pulpit his voice was no longer affected. You see, boys and girls? This is why all body parts need careful cleaning and attention!

Another case of this ilk was related to him by another doctor, this time concerning a three year old. His mother took him to the doctor for what she called “spasms of ecstasy.” The little boy laughed inappropriately, eyes always bright and shiny although appearing not to see, and could not stand on his own. His penis, on the other hand, was constantly standing, so maybe the rest of the little boy’s body was tired. The boy was circumcised on the spot and shook hands with the doctor, to everyone’s amazement. He had improved considerably but was not completely “cured” as he still couldn’t hold up his head on his own and could only speak several words. Oh, to live in a time when doctors knew so little about mental deficiencies!

The doctor relates several other cases, none of which were as interesting as the two above. In conclusion, phimosis provokes masturbation, for it irritates the genitals and causes the child or man to rub them when no one is looking. Therefore, circumcision is the best defense; it’s sanitary and protects the person from the debasement and horrible habit that is soon to follow.

He also admits at this point that there are times when enlarged and inflamed prostates can occur without having to be a self-polluter or indulger in sexual excess. The recommendations were mostly the same as before, sitz baths and enemas; however, the new items of note are painting the perineum with iodine, and a brisk rubbing with a flesh brush. Ohh, is THAT what the kids were callin’ it in those days? Oh, wait, they didn’t know what sex actually was, so never mind. One other way he prescribes for enlarged prostates is to blister the perineum, and then follow this with MERCURY ointment. It’s a wonder people even lived to an age to procreate!

Malformations of the penis can be congenital or acquired. Some congenital defects are hypospadias, where the urethral opening is on the underside of the penis, instead of at the tip; and epispadias, where is where the opening in on the top, instead of the tip. He speaks of redeposited cartilage in elderly persons which interferes with erections, and so on. Then he teaches us something very new: if you’re born without a penis, you’re impotent. If you have a very small penis, or a “stump” (his words), you can still have sex, and even have children from this very stubby union. He relates a story of a man who had a 3/4in. peen and wanted to have a child; his physician advised him to have a glass tube made that he could fit on his penis and thus facilitate procreative intercourse. He wraps up the paragraph by saying point-blank what Dr. Mary Wood-Allen could not: all that’s needed for intercourse is the semen going into the vagina.

There is a section wherein he cites other doctors that have come across impotence stemming from what we would call anal fissures now, and they’re quite detailed and, well, gross. We don’t need to discuss them further.

Chapter IX – Diseases that Result from Sexual Excess and Masturbation. It appears that the good doctor is repeating himself, but no, here we have new disorders. The first is cerebral anemia, which appears to be a sort of slow-leaking brain aneurysm. This occurs because a person is, what else, masturbating too much; it is more likely to occur when the digestion is out of order from gas pains.

What happens when you have cerebral anemia? Vertigo. Dim vision. Fainting “fits” leading to possible insensibility. Some say they have a “lost feeling,” where they feel partially unconscious. He cites another doctor named Jones, who natters on for a very long paragraph about how important this all is. They believed cerebral anemia was caused by deficient blood and that’s why people suffering from this event did not benefit from tonics.

Cerebral anemia can lead to chronic brain softening, which I’m assuming is dementia. This becomes a definite “yes” when the person has been playing with himself. Even though he says that he has not found a case where the cause of brain softening/cerebral anemia was directly masturbation, he claims to have enough cases to tell him that it is direct. Brain softening is a result of malnutrition, not from food, but nerve sources. Whaling on your dork takes a lot of nerve energy, leaving them enervated; an excessive waste of force in your body! Tut-tut.

One of the first symptoms of brain softening is memory failure. Now, Dr. H. does attribute failing memory to other things, such as worry, overtaxed brain, and dyspepsia. He cautions medical students not to automatically assume, unless there are other symptoms to go on. Brain softening is curable if found in its early stages. The cure he advises, for this disease, is 1/80 of an injection of STRYCHNINE once a day unless unpleasant reactions form. One might stop administering the drug for a day or two to help the patient tolerate it better. Small doses of opium have also been used as a cure, but “I should dread the effect on the stomach.” No matter which you choose, the poison or the poppy, a vigorous massage is prescribed. For whom? The doctor or the patient? And what type of “massage?”

Frequent ejaculation is also responsible for other diseases of the brain and spinal cord, many of which are paired with impotence, erotic desires, satyriasis and priapism (a situation which keeps the penis constantly erect, like the severe side-effect of Viagra, without the Viagra). Disease of the cerebellum leads to the derangement of the genitals and their functions. Sclerosis, or hardening, of the cerebellum’s nerves can sometimes lead to daily nocturnal emissions and migraine headaches. Eventually, this will lead to impotence. Oh, that naughty semen!

The doctor tells us that hanged men ejaculate during their struggle to death. Well-authenticated cases have been recorded of men who are still alive, who temporarily hang themselves to masturbate to orgasm. This may be the first medical mention of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Injuries to the spinal cord produce persistent priapism in some people, and impotence in others, this latter especially when the injury occurs near the genito-spinal portion of the cord. He relates a case from Lallemand who knew a French soldier; this soldier was on his way to his mistress when he fell on the ground and struck his sacrum (this is at the base of the spine and is part of the pelvis). This paralyzed the lower half of his body, resulting in priapism. He masturbated to relieve himself, but to no avail. He tried to soothe the discomfort with his mistress’ ministrations, but he could not be soothed! However, when he was alone and sleeping in his own room he could send out the boys down under. The only thing the doctor says about this case is that it is “strange.” Perhaps he feels he has no more pulpit-preaching about the dangers of onanism? Silly me, that’s the purpose of the entire book, isn’t it?!

Acton (remember him? He’s the one who said all the schoolboys are immoral and mutually masturbate each other, and also stated that married couples have lower risks of pregnancy during the first weeks of marital intercourse. In other words, the stupid guy) mentions a young clergyman – who we KNOW is too holy and good like God to even think of touching his penis, even to clean it – was subject to continuous stiffies. Walking around, riding on his horse, even the friction of his trouser material was making him erect. Acton discovered his trouble – a very tight foreskin – and with a little snipping and a lot of soaking the patient was cured! A similar case was seen by Dr. Howe with a clergyman who had malaria and a slightly enlarged prostate, blah blah blah, bladder cleaning.

Sunstroke was thought to be a cause of impotence as well, although the doctor only personally met with one case of this. The usual story: man is healthy until the problem begins, has lots of sex and has a hearty appetite for all sorts of things, then gets ailment (in this case, sunstroke), and suddenly can’t do anything. Boring! What happened to the Faradic currents, and lead washes, and even leeches?

Chaper X – Continence. Dr. Howe begins this chapter with quite a “duh” statement: every organ, nay, every atom of one’s body has a purpose assigned to it. “There is no exception to this law.” How about the appendix?

When an organ fails to do its required function, the good doctor tells us, it becomes impaired or even destroyed. He gives as an example the joints; when one is splinted or otherwise has its natural movements curtailed by surgical implements, the joint becomes impaired, and if kept this way for too long, will be permanently disabled. If one does not use his eyes, they will become blind, as those fish who live in caves so dark that they have become blinded.

This transitions into the genitals, OF COURSE. The law stated above also applies to them. A man may go without having sex for years, then marry and have no issues in the bedroom, but Dr. Howe believes this to be an exceptional case. The genitals are for propagating the species, and this is to be done by adults, and obviously, very healthily in married life. So he believes that all healthy men should marry by the age of 24.

The debilitation of the genitals occurs in men aged 35 and older (my presumption is because people lived shorter lives back then, so everything declined more quickly than it would in the present day). However, even though Howe said men should be married by 24, a marriage contract shouldn’t be drawn up before then unless the man has some special disorder of the genitals that would have this course of action be beneficial to his penis. Doc anticipates my question of why one would impose such an age limit. His theory is, while during puberty the sexual organs are quite possibly “up to snuff” for intercourse and the like, he also posits that it could harm the genitals, thereby making a (completely illogical) case for abstinence. In the course of marriage at the appropriate time, the nervous excitement from orgasms will not do any harm, unless they are too often and accompanied by nocturnal emissions!

Remember, holding off on sex until the appropriate time makes you a perfect man.

Here comes Acton again (schoolboys are immoral, married couples have too much sex in their first weeks together for it to result in pregnancy, you know him by now): many opinions on this subject, some even saying that young boys have no sexual desire. His very own, special opinion is that, if a young man has been properly looked after, with his mind free of vile and debase thoughts and practices, it is very easy to be continent. Every year completed this way is another year easier.

And then Lallemand (the guy with the case of the French soldier who broke his pelvis and then couldn’t ejaculate except in his sleep) says: puberty is a time of distress, heralded with impatient, melancholy dispositions, apathy, and restlessness. Yup, sounds like puberty, all right.

Lallemand then gives some examples of remarkable men, who have never had relations with women. But have they had relations with other men? Lallemand is unclear. Their temptations are very slight, which is odd, considering the power of the genitals, and L says, the rest of us would be remiss if we adopted this men’s practices without examination of ourselves. In which way do you mean that?

One would think that this is the culminating chapter, but you’d be wrong, sucka! This is getting WAY too long, so I’m gonna skip through the rest of it and point out the more interesting bits.

For the treatment of impotence, the doctor recommends a diet of eggs, oysters, milk, cream, raw beef, chicken, strong broths thickened with barley, cracked wheat, oat meal, and other foods of this type. No lard or pork; beef suet or melted butter should be used instead. No smoked food of any kind, nor fresh bread, pastries, or hot puddings. All fried foods are objectionable. Salt fish and meats, pickles, olives, cheese, and bananas are also forbidden. Milk and meats should not be eaten at the same time. Steaks should only be broiled, with no gravy. Skim all fat off of soup before eating it. All fruits, except oranges and grapes, should be cooked before they are eaten. Mustard can be used at any time.

The good doctor also advises salads with just pure olive oil. He recommends an orange salad, which is orange sections, oil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Those are all good things, but don’t sound all that great together. Graham bread is okay, which makes sense, because that was a disgusting article and meant to diminish sexual urgings anyway. No jellies, except cranberry. Boiled cereals, beef, mutton, and fresh fish and rice round out the acceptable foods. Doctor Howe also prescribes a little bit of alcohol, and recognizes that he runs counter to his contemporaries, who feel that alcohol is too much of a stimulant to the genitals.

Cannabis indica was used, along with other herbs, as an aphrodisiac, prescribed by a doctor to help cure impotence. It was also suggested for those patients who had an “aversion” to sexual intercourse, or who had “coldness” in their genitals. These remedies were used together with electrical shocks.

Yeah, the Farradic currents and such were mentioned earlier, but the doctor didn’t quite explain HOW they were administered. He does here. Two electrodes were attached to the battery at positive and negative poles. The negative one was oiled and warmed, then passed THROUGH THE URETHRA to the neck of the bladder, while the positive one, with a moistened sponge on its end, was placed near the coccyx, or tailbone. These electrodes were then moved around slowly, backward and forwards, while the current was flowing. On the second day, the urethral electrode would be replaced by a wire brush that moved over the inner thighs, scrotum, and perineum. These two would be alternated until the treatments were done. If the patient was having issues with his prostate, the urethral electrode would be placed inside the rectum instead.

If a patient is completely beyond the range of help regarding his masturbatory habits, then Doctor Howe recommends castration, with an application of cantharidal collodion to the penis and perineum so that the parts cannot be handled. The exterior genitalia can also be entirely removed.

Female masturbators can only be cured by marriage. If the woman cannot or will not get married, and refuses to cease her solitary habit, then Doctor Howe is totally fine with her undergoing a clitoridectomy.

[break]

As we of course know today, masturbation is not a disease as originally thought, and the symptoms attributed to it back in the day were a bunch of nonsense and scare-mongering. While many of Howe’s contemporaries agreed with them, I did find an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association that reviewed Excessive Venery in 1884, and their opinion was less than favorable. Firstly, they took umbrage with his idea that it was a complete reference work, as they felt other treatises about similar subjects were much better. In fact, the reviewers’ favored parts of the work were those that Howe quotes from other sources, such as Acton, Lallemand, and so on. They did not like the tone of the writing, either.

The JAMA reviewers also took Howe to task regarding some of this conclusions, such as his supposed irrefutable proof that masturbation was the sole cause of consumption/tuberculosis. They want facts, and Howe has not provided any; his observations do not count.

This particular paragraph is my favorite, though:

On page 76 we have the following: “During sexual intercourse the expenditure of nerve force is compensated by the magnetism of the partner. In all cases, or in almost all cases, there is a return of that nature that prevents injury.” Pseudo-pathology can exhibit itself in no worse light than in the above passage. What is this ‘nerve force’ which is to be ‘compensated’ by the magnetism of the partner? It would be well for the author to explain how and when he made this interesting discovery.

Hahahah. I love it. It’s good to see there was a bit of sanity shining through.

Well, that’s the show. If you liked this episode, please like, subscribe, review, or whatever option your podcast aggregator has available. The Forgotten Library is available on the following platforms: Anchor, Apple, Google, Spotify, Breaker, Overcast, Pocket Casts, PodBean, RadioPublic, Stitcher, and TuneIn. There’s also a Twitter account now @forgottenlibra1. Show suggestions are always welcome. Until next time, I’m Nikki Gee, your intrepid library haunter.

Sources:

Englehardt, H.T. (2013). The Disease of Masturbation: Values and the Concept of Disease. Meaning and Medicine: a Reader in the Philosophy of Health Care.

Howe, J.W. (1883). Excessive Venery, Masturbation and Continence. Available via Internet Archive, Google Books, HathiTrust, etc.

Hughes, J.R. (2003). Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte: did he have seizures? Psychogenic or epileptic or both? Epilepsy & Behavior 4, 793-796. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2003.09.005

JAMA. Book reviews. 1884;II(13):358-359. doi:10.1001/jama.1884.02390370022010

Stephens, E. (2009). Coining Spermatorrhoea: Medicine and Male Body Fluids, 1836-1866. Sexualities 12, 467. ResearchGate link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43525222_Coining_Spermatorrhoea_Medicine_and_Male_Body_Fluids_1836--1866

Willyard, C. (2019). Outmoded Diseases: Spermatorrhea. The Last Word on Nothing. https://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2019/05/29/outmoded-diseases-spermatorrhea-2/