Priapism is one of the things we check for at accident scenes where the mechanism of injury indicates that the patient might have suffered damage/injury to the spinal cord. It is done discretely with the back of the hand in an almost 'accidental-looking sweep'--to preserve the patient's dignity. There are other indicators, but this IS one of 'em. Often, trauma patients with spinal injury will not present with pain of even discomfort. In street terms, priapism is a hard on; in polite terms, an erection. Obviously, women are not checked for the 'condition', except for the Russian wrestling or weight lifting teams.

FYI