helicine arteries

Helicine arteries & venous sinuses.

The helicine arteries supply blood to the venous sinuses. During erection the helicine arteries dilate bringing more blood to these sinuses. The tissue becomes engorged with blood which causes an expansion of the erectile tissue resulting in compression of the veins located beneath the dense fibro-elastic tissue surrounding the corpus cavernosa. This effectively prevents the outflow of this blood via the veins, resulting in further erection. When smooth muscle in the dense fibro-elastic tissue of these cavernous bodies relaxes, the veins can then take blood out of the area; the venous sinuses are no longer engorged with blood, and the erection subsides.

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