Potency Test | MLC | Everything You need to Know | A detailed MediUpdates article. A potency test is a medical examination that can determine if a person (in this case, the accused) is capable of participating in sexual actions and whether he might have committed the crime for which he has been charged.
The initial step is generally to see if the male genital organ is fully grown. Several tests can be conducted based on this information. Some of the procedures employed include manual stimulation, X-ray, and ultra sound.
The following are some of the most popular potency tests:
Semen analysis is a test that determines a man’s fertility. This test assesses a man’s sperm and sperm count.
The blood flow into the penis is checked using a penile Doppler Ultrasound. Only when blood goes into the penis rather than out of it can a person have an erection.
History : Potency Test
To start writing potency test, always write history why police or authority which brought the person for medical examination for sexual health, want to have this specific examination, like:
Police has brought a ___years old male, average height with normal/obese built & both hands cuffed for medical examination for sexual health.
Examination of clothes
Always try to write in detail about his clothes like:
- Clothes are clean, not blood or semen stained.
- Clothes seem to have semen stained, spot was encircled, labeled, signed and clothes handed over to police to be sent to PFSA for semen detection and DNA analysis.
General Physical Examination:
- Clinically stable, conscious & oriented in time, place and person, GCS 15/15
- If clinically not stable, state the obvious findings, e.g. vitals, conscious level, orientation etc
Mental Health
Accused person / person under examination should be in good state of mental health. Ask him different questions to check his orientation, whether he is answering with good orientation of his surroundings or he is pretending to be sick mentally, look closely of his body movements and asses accordingly, if you think he has some psychiatric issue, refer him to consultant psychiatrist for evaluation and opinion about his mental health status and hold your opinion till then.
Secondary sexual characteristics
Always check these traits in males. For males, secondary characteristics include facial hair, hair in axilla and chest hair, increased body hair, pelvic build (lack of rounded hips), upper body muscular build, and the ability to produce muscle mass at an increase rate than the females. These features indirectly indicates that person is a grown up individual ad can perform certain acts
Examination of Genital region
The main part of potency test is examination of genital region. It starts with examination of pattern of hair growth in pubic region. Secondly start the examination of Penis and scrotal sacs and always mention these things
Penis is circumcised or not
Penis is normally shaped or deformed
Both testes can be palpated in relevant scrotal sacs
Cremasteric Reflex
Check whether Cremasteric Reflex is positive or not. Motor responses that occur when the skin is stroked are known as superficial reflexes. The cremasteric response is a superficial reflex produced when the inner region of the thigh is stroked in human men. The cremaster muscle contracts as the skin is stroked, pulling the ipsilateral testicle up toward the inguinal canal. It is simply rated as present or absent, much like other superficial reflexes.
Anatomy: The cremaster muscle is a paired structure made up of striated and smooth muscle layers in thin layers. The name comes from a Greek word that means “suspender.” The muscle really comprises two parts: a lateral and a medial cremaster muscle. The internal oblique muscle and inguinal ligament give rise to the lateral muscle, whereas the medical cremaster muscle comes from the pubic tubercle but can also come from the lateral pubic crest. The muscles that wrap over the spermatic cord and testicles and enter into the testicular tunica vaginalis are covered by a fascia. The cremaster muscle is located on the round ligament in females.
Blood flow to the muscles is provided by the cremasteric artery, a branch of the inferior epigastric artery, as well as anastomotic flow from the other arteries feeding the scrotum.
The sensory and motor fibers of the genito-femoral nerve, which originate in the L1 and L2 spinal nerve nuclei, provide innervation for the cremasteric reflex. The sensory fibers of the genito-femoral and ilio-inguinal nerves are stimulated when the inner thigh is stroked. The motor fibers of the genito-femoral nerve are triggered when these sensory nerves synapse in the spinal cord, causing the cremaster muscle to contract and the ipsilateral testicle to rise. It differs from muscle stretch reflexes since it is a superficial reaction. The sensory signal for the cremasteric reflex must ascend the cord to the brain before descending to the motor neurons.
Final Opinion: Potency Test
Always try to give opinion in negative sentences, it means always try to say that we did not get any evidence which points that the person cannot do this act , in case of potency test, we always give final opinion like this,
“There is nothing to suggest that he is not able to perform sexual act under ordinary circumstances. “
