ABSTRACT
Peyronie’s disease (PD), also known as induratio penis plastica, is a disorder characterized by plaque formation in the tunica albuginea (TA) of the penis. The disease is named after Francois Gigot de la Peyronie (1678-1747), a Frenchman who served as royal surgeon to King Louis XV and who made significant contributions to intestinal surgical techniques. de la Peyronie was also instrumental in effecting the transition of surgery from a trade into a professional guild in France.1,2 de la Peyronie described PD in a treatise on ejaculatory dysfunction in 1743, reporting on a patient with ‘rosary beads’ of scar tissue extending along the dorsum of the penis that was associated with upward penile curvature during erection.3 de la Peyronie suggested that the best treatment was bathing in the baths of Barèges in southern France. He was not, however, the first to describe the condition that bears his name. In 1561, Fallopius and Vesalius corresponded about a patient with Peyronie’s disease, and several earlier references exist, though the vague descriptions make it less clear if these truly refer to the same clinical entity.1
