Quiz: Is Your Penis Normal?

Penises come in a wide range of lengths, widths, and shapes. The average length of an erect penis is between 5.1 and 5.5 inches (12.95-13.97 cm). "Bigger is better" is a myth and the size of a man's penis does not affect the amount of pleasure he feels, and it has minimal effect on the amount of pleasure for his partner.

Some bumps on the penis are normal, some may be abnormal but harmless, and some may be a sign of a serious condition.

Some causes of bumps on the penis include:

• Pearly penile papules
• Pimples, cysts, or ingrown hairs
• Moles
• Fordyce spots
• Lymphocele
• Angiokeratoma
• Lichen planus
• Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
• Peyronie's disease
• Penile cancer

See a doctor for any bump on the penis that concerns you, especially for any that occur after unprotected sex, or for an existing bump that changes in size, shape, or color.

It's common for a penis to curve slightly to the left or right when erect.

However, a more significant bend in the penis, sometimes accompanied by pain or difficulty having sex, may be a sign of Peyronie's disease, a condition that causes the penis to become curved when erect. It can happen at any age, but mostly affects men over 40.

Priapism is a condition in which an erection lasts more than 4 hours, causes pain, and is not caused by being turned on. It may be caused by some erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs or other medications, injuries, diseases, drug use, and even spider bites.

Your doctor may suggest you climb stairs, because light exercise can help draw blood away from the penis. Ice packs or a cold shower may also help.

However, it's important to see a doctor right away for an erection lasting more than four hours, because untreated priapism can cause scarring and erectile dysfunction.

Even though there are no bones in the penis, the tubes that fill with blood during an erection can burst. Penile fractures are rare, but if the penis is violently twisted when erect, it can occur. About one-third of all cases happen when the partner is on top, and the man's penis slips out and is forcefully bent. Surgery is usually needed to repair penile fractures.

Healthy men average 3 to 5 erections overnight, each lasting about 25 to 35 minutes. It's believed that night-time erections are associated with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep when dreaming is most common. When men wake up with an erection this is the last in the series of overnight erections.

The good news is that night-time erections are a sign that the penis is functioning properly.

Erectile dysfunction (ED), which is defined as trouble getting or keeping an erection firm enough for sex, is the most common sex problem men report to their doctor. ED affects about 30 million men. About 22% of men at age 40 suffer from some level of ED, and that percentage rises to 49% by age 70.

Treatment may include lifestyle changes to improve cardiovascular health, counseling for emotional issues, medications, penile self-injection, intraurethral alprostadil (MUSE), vacuum-assisted erection devices, penile prostheses, and surgery in some cases.

Most men expel between 1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon (1.25 and 5.00 ml) of semen each time they ejaculate.

The amount of semen that is ejaculated can vary depending on:

• Age: men tend to produce the most semen in their early thirties, and the amount decreases as a man gets older
• Genetics
• Diet
• Smoking
• Overall health
• How recently they last had sex

The average time to ejaculation is about 5 to 7 minutes after starting sex, but this time can vary widely from less than one minute to more than 30 minutes.

Premature ejaculation is defined as regularly ejaculating within one minute of entering your partner. But the feeling of whether an orgasm occurs too soon is subjective, and if a man and his partner are happy with the amount of time it takes him to ejaculate, then it may not be considered a problem.

If you feel you are ejaculating too early and it is causing distress to you personally or in your relationship, see a doctor for treatment.

The idea that shoe size can predict penis size is a myth. Multiple studies have found no correlation between the size shoe a man wears and his penis length.