The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of both penile innervation and
vascularisation. Eighty-five male cadavers were examined through gross and microscopic anatomical
analysis. The pelvic nerve plexus had both parasympathetic and sympathetic roots. It was distributed to the
external urethral sphincter giving rise to cavernous nerves which anastomosed in 70% of the cases with the
pudendal nerve in the penile root. Accessory pudendal arteries were present in the pelvis in 70% of the
cases, anastomosing in 70% of the cases with the cavernous arteries that originated from the pudendal
arteries. Transalbugineal anastomoses were always seen between the cavernous artery and the spongiosal
arterial network. There were 2 venous pathways, 1 in the pelvis and 1 in the perineum with a common
origin from the deep dorsal penile vein. It is concluded that there are 2 neurovascular pathways destined for
the penis that are topographically distinct. One is located in the pelvis and the other in the perineum. We
were unable to determine the functional balance between these 2 anastomosing pathways but experimental
data have shown that they are both involved in penile erection. These 2 neurovascular pathways, above and
below the levator ani, together with their anastomoses, form a neurovascular loop around the levator ani.