An erection requires a healthy mind-body "team effort" led by the brain. Upon receiving signals from the brain, the blood vessels, nerves, and hormones work together to cause and maintain an erection. If nothing is causing a man to become aroused, then his body's erection "team" of brain, nerves, blood vessels, and hormones won't begin working to cause an erection. The amount of blood flowing into the penis's spongy chambers corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum equals the amount flowing out.
The penis spends most of its time flaccid, or soft and hanging loosely. In other words, a flaccid penis is a penis at rest. The average girth of a flaccid penis is 3. By comparison, the same study found that the average length of an erect penis is 5.
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Understanding the physiological process of getting an erection can help you look at ED in a whole new light. Your penis has two chambers inside it called the corpora cavernosa. These chambers extend from the head of your penis deep into the pelvis.