1. persistent penile erection that occurs independently of sexual arousal or that continues long after orgasm has occurred and sexual activity has ceased. Immediate causes may be thrombosis, cancer, hemorrhage, inflammation, lesions involving nerve tracts between the brain and the urethra, or an overdose of drugs to treat erectile dysfunction. The condition is also associated with leukemia and sickle-cell anemia and is usually painful.

2. another name for satyriasis. Priapism is named for Priapus, the Greco-Roman god of procreation and of the generative force in nature, who was the basis of a cult that worshipped the phallus. See also phallocentric.