Dr. Giles Skey Brindley, a fellow of FRCP and FRS, demonstrated his knowledge of how to stand confidently during a 1983 Urodynamics Society lecture in Las Vegas. The charismatic doctor injected drugs into his penis, resulting in an erection. Brindley had discovered the first effective treatment for impotence, known today as erectile dysfunction. His appearance in Las Vegas ensured that his discovery would become widely recognized.
Laurence Klotz, a University of Toronto urologist, wrote about his experience with Brindley at the 1983 meeting two decades later. His memoir, entitled "How (Not) to Communicate New Scientific Information: A Memoir of the Famous Brindley Lecture," was published in the urology journal BJU International in November 2005.
During the meeting, Brindley claimed that a lecture would not arouse or cause an erection in a normal person. As Brindley wore loose clothing to display his results, he informed the audience that he had injected himself with papaverine in his hotel room before the lecture. Soon, Brindley dropped his trousers and shorts, revealing his fully erect penis to the stunned audience. The sense of drama was palpable as Brindley said with gravity, "I’d like to give some of the audience the opportunity to confirm the degree of tumescence."
Many knew Brindley for his contributions to science and medicine, but he was also known for his interests in music. He created his own bassoon and published a study in the journal Nature in 1973 on the speed of sound in bent tubes and the design of wind instruments.
The experiment of self-injection that led to an erection entered medical literature in 1986 in the British Journal of Pharmacology, via Brindley’s Pilot Experiments on the Action of Drugs Injected Into the Human Corpus Cavernosum Penis. The doctor gives a detailed 307-word explanation of the drugs and massage technique used.
In conclusion, Klotz highlights that Professor Brindley belongs to the gallery of famous British eccentrics to have made spectacular contributions to science. And that the story of his lecture should be in the urological history books.
