Mels van Driel

MELS VAN DRIEL

& THE SECRET PART

Mels van Driel (1954) is a urologist at the University Hospital in Groningen, The Netherlands. In 1991 he wrote a postdoctoral thesis on the subject of erectile impotence. Since 1989 he is a member of the International Society for Impotence Research.

 
 

THE SECRET PART

A Natural History of the Penis

By Mels Van Driel

 

ISBN 186992858X
Publisher: Mandrake of Oxford
Format: Paperback / 250pp

Price: £10.99 / $20
Category: Urology / Sexology

Order this book

The Secret Part

 

'interesting and informative and eminently readable by a lay audience’

- Professor A R Mundy, Royal Free and University College Medical School

 

'Men have a strange relationship with their genitals, one that is not mirrored by women. This book is about "penis culture", a subject rarely discussed in public but considered by many, and reflected by the title, which includes the word "secret". This book is well researched and explores an enormous subject across many cultures and throughout the ages. Van Driel presents a highly informative account of the penis and the many conditions or disorders that are associated with it, e.g. impotence, priapism, circumcision and Peyronie’s disease, from many perspectives, other than the medical one. It is an easy to read format, his titillating account of the subject includes a chapter on what women think of an erect penis and about one that is unable to erect. The book is an evocation of the myths of the penis and a gentle satire on the imperfections of having one. The book will not only appeal to anyone who has one, but also to medical personnel involved with one, or to the layman. . . Overall it is a genuine good read.'
From: BJU International 2002, 89, 796-797 - Jyoti Shah, Department of Urology, King’s College Hospital NHS Trust

 

The Secret Part was published in the Netherlands as the best selling Het Geheime Deel, and is translated by Judith Abma-Hill.

Contents

Introduction
Smelling and feeling
About The Secret Part
The phallus;
Other names;
The beginnings of science;
Masturbation;
Urologists;
Testosterone;
The withering penis;
Koro;
Misunderstandings about the glans;
Tumescence and detumescence;
The dentate vagina;
How often should a man ejaculate?
Premature ejaculation;
The length of the penis;
Increasing the length of the penis.

Impotence
Psychological or physical?
Supplementary tests;
Cultural influences;
Impotence in the Middle Ages;
Castration; Impotence and law suits;
Medication; Alcohol and drugs;
Congenital abnormalities;
Paraplegia;
Wedding night impotence;
Adultery; An unsatisfying partner;
Occupational impotence;
Wandering thoughts;
Penile injuries;
War and torture;
Perverted thoughts;
Solutions;
Venous occlusion and other ‘solutions’;
High tech: old wine in new bottles;
Viagra;
Inspired by the penile bone;
The vacu-pump.

Other Penile Problems A fairy tale about growing old;
Rusting solid;
Priapism;
The curved penis;
Hypospadia;
Phimosis and circumcision

The Woman and Feminism
Abnormalities at the gate;
How older women view impotence;
The art of seduction;
New impotence;
The cold shoulder;
If he does not feel like it.

The Erection, Art and Science
Sexologists;
Future developments;
To conclude.

Bibliography
Index

Extracts from The Secret Part

'Every so often, politicians also have involvement with an erect penis. In 1993 a discussion arose in European Parliament about the length of the penis. Mrs Nel van Dijk, parliamentary member of Groen-Links (Green-Left party) recommended ending ‘the squabbling about EC norms for the condom’. What was the problem? For just about anything you can think of, there have to be EC norms. The English were fighting for a compromise about the length of the average European penis. According to them, an average length of 17 cm and a diameter of 5.6 cm was far too small. The average English penis is believed to be quite a bit bigger.

Nel van Dijk asked the committee whether they were of the opinion that in view of the sensitivity obviously surrounding establishing the average length of the penis, it might be wise to let each country decide their own average length, or at least to discuss the matter on a lower level than the European Committee. Another possibility was making a charter for the condom. The member countries could if necessary ask for exceptions to be made about the statistically estimated average length.

‘And if the gentlemen get stuck, then the male member itself will no doubt need to be normalised. I wonder what measures the busybodies in Brussels will come up with for accomplishing that’. What wisdom in these words!

Under the authority of the Amsterdam condom manufacturer Het Gulden Vlies (The golden Fleece), the psychologist Erick Janssen performed a study on the circumference of the penis in erection. If a condom is too tight, this can lead to complaints, ranging from ‘doesn’t feel comfortable’ to ‘it is strangling me’. In contrast, a condom that is too loose, can slip off by accident. Janssen’s study showed that measured around the base, the average circumference of the penis in full erection was about 121 millimetres, with a range from 90 to 161 mm. Thus, the range was very wide. In addition, in a quarter of the study subjects, the circumference of the penis in erection was less than 110 mm, in three quarters less that 130 mm and in ninety per cent less than 140 mm. In ten per cent, the circumference in erection was more than 140 mm. The researcher’s conclusion was that good instruction about condoms should always contain information about the thickness of the penis in relation to various sizes of condom.'

P. 58 The Secret Part


Related article

Mandrake home page