Stand by your man: the importance of the female in male sexual problems.

These words were written several centuries ago at a time when there were cultural and religious restrictions. However, da Vinci was prepared to discuss and create anatomical diagrams of male genitalia in spite of such curbs. Many generations later there still seems to be a taboo concerning men’s health care, which is underutilised and less well provided for when compared with that of women. This article looks at how women can play an important role in ‘standing by their man’ and encouraging him to seek appropriate medical attention. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) surely must have been one of the most influential and intelligent renaissancemen.He designed prototypes for the chain link used on bicycles, a rudimentary helicopter, as well as being a superb artist, architect and anatomist. Her Majesty the Queen has a private collection of his anatomical diagrams including various anatomical drawings of the penis. His jottings often appeared alongside such diagrams andwere sometimes difficult to decipher as they were written ‘mirror-image cursive’ from right to left. This was probably because he was left-handed, although others say it was in order to protect his thoughts from prying eyes. When looking at men’s health it is first necessary to ascertain what is involved: