NCBI ROFL: What Mr. Darcy would have done for impotence.

Impotence in the 18th and 19th century: concepts of etiology and approaches to therapy. "The old word impotence is derived from the Latin word impotencia, which literally translated means "lack of power." Impotence, in the course of the history, has been attributed to mental pathology, anxiety, or demons or witches. Historically, the pharmacological treatments for impotence started in Greek times, when a myriad of herbal medications were applied locally to the genitals to enhance "sexual strength." In the 18th century, theories about the main factors inducing impotence saw it as an abnormal state of the fibers, a defect in the solid or liquid substances or a bad structure (tumor, inflammation, abscess, ulcer or foreign body). According to these mechanisms, when impotence depended on the state of the muscular fibers, treatment included a tepid bath and a clyster. In very fat or very weak people, who get particularly tired, it was ...