Tunica Balloons

I’ve put together this little experiment to examine the way which a different number of tunica layers might effect PE and some possible effects this physiological difference might have on the function of the penis when becoming erect and stretched.

Disclaimer:
I’ve used balloons and air to simulate the tunica albuginea penis and its expansion and stretch. This definitely is NOT a well put together empirical study, just a model and should be viewed as such. So these are some shortcomings in my model:

First off, I have used air from my lungs (a compressible gas) to simulate the inflow of blood (an non-compressible liquid) into the cavernous tissue chambers of the penis creating pressure within the tunica. Water would have been a better medium.

I pushed on the balloons in the expansion study to gauge pressure, looking for a similar degree of hardness (like when you kick your tires to check their pressure) - this could have been much more exact if I would have used a pump with an inline pressure gauge to fill the balloons.

In the stretch test I also went by feel. I stretched the balloons until the elastic threshold was reached, I would best explain this as the point which the stretch stops feeling like stretching rubber (returns to its original size) and begins to feel like stretching plastic wrap/cellophane (does not return to its original size). You can definitely feel this point, but it introduces more human error into things.

Last, I have used rubber, a substance with an irregular fiber alignment that is very elastic with no fluid-based viscoelastic properties, to simulate a collagen matrix, a substance with a hierarchical fiber alignment that is both elastic and viscoelastic in nature. Not sure what I could have used instead, I was all out of human tunicae. ;)

I’m sure this analysis has many other shortcomings, but my point is that this is a model, not any kind of empirical observation.

Tunica Albuginea layers:
The tunica albuginea penis can have one, two, or three layers. The normal structure is bi-layered, but research shows this isn’t always the case. I have seen two studies that illustrate this phenomenon, but I have been limited to Google on my research today and yesterday as I didn’t have access to the databases at the library of the college I work at, so I have just one I found online to cite. Here is the citation and my summary:

Histologic study of the tunica albuginea of the penis and mode of cavernosus muscles’ insertion into it. Shafik A, et al. Arch Androl. 2006 Jan-Feb; 52(1): 1-8

To BRIEFLY summarize the researchers looked at several cadaver penises and found that in some cases the structure of the tunica albuginea can differ from the typical bi-layer structure found in most penises. The researchers found that in 7.14% of the subjects they examined, the tunica was composed of a single layer of connective tissue with the fibers aligned longitudinally. In 71.43% of the subjects the tunica followed the typical bi-layered structure with an inner layer with circular fiber alignment and an outer layer with longitudinal fiber alignment. In 21.43% of the subjects the tunica was composed of three layers with an inner and outer layer possessing circularly aligned fibers sandwiching a middle layer with longitudinally aligned fibers.

My predictions:
Due to the setup of the standard tunica, I believe we can make some predictions as to how a tunica with a non-standard setup will function regarding PE and the way in which erections happen.

First, the typical bi-layer structure is composed of an inner layer of circularly aligned fibers and an outer layer of longitudinally aligned fibers. Connective tissue only stretches well elastically in the direction of the collagen fibers. What this means is that the inner layer can expand elastically outward, but the outer layer cannot do so nearly as well. This means the outer layer acts like a rigid tube when the inner layer expands laterally and pushes against it, like a tube and tire. The outer layer resisting the inner layer creates a hard erection. Without the inner layer, a single layer tunica will expand very well length-wise, but will need a much greater inflow of blood to achieve the same degree of internal pressure and, therefore, erectile hardness.

Second, just an increased number of layers will make the tunica thicker and tougher. This would mean less expansion during an erection at similar levels of stimulation but a much faster build-up of pressure and, therefore, hardness. Also, a thicker tunica (more layers) should be more difficult to stretch at a constant level of force. The fully stretched length, however, would not be dramatically different as all the layers possess the same fully stretched elastic length, but the tunica with more layers would require more force to achieve a fully stretched length.

I am primarily testing the second predictions here as I do not have any materials that are elastic but with a hierarchical fiber alignment so I have no means of orienting the fibers in the proper way.

The expansion test:
Picture 1 - smallest balloon is three balloons inside one another. Middle balloon is two. Biggest balloons is a single balloon.

This shows that a thicker tunica requires a much lower volume of filler (air in this case) to achieve the same degree of hardness.

The fully stretched test:
Picture 2 - a single balloon fully stretched
Picture 3 - a double balloon fully stretched
Picture 4 - a triple balloon fully stretched

They all stretched to approximately the same length, but the double balloon was hard to stretch that far, and the triple balloon was nearly impossible. Also, they stretched longer than the ruler, sorry.

The force vs. stretch test:
Picture 5 - a single balloon attached to 2.5 pounds of weight
Picture 6 - a double balloon attached to 2.5 pounds of weight
Picture 7 - a triple balloon attached to 2.5 pounds of weight

Sure enough, the more layers the less elongation at a constant level of force.

So, I think this illustrates my predictions, probably doesn’t prove anything.

Discuss.

Roots

Sorry, only five pictures max. Here’s 6 and 7:

:up:

Means a lot coming from you firegoat.

Roots , VERY GOOD !!!

Perfect illustration .

dooks out !!!

Thanks dooks.

I wonder how much force/pressure it would require for someone with multiple tunica layers to grow. You mentioned in my other thread that a person with just one layer might gain faster, but I think it might not be so. If gains come from tunica growth, a person with three layers would stimulate growth in all three layers, but I may be wrong. I think it’s the intensity that has to be considered unless the amount of layers doesn’t change the required force/pressure to stimulate growth. I’ve read threads in which people claimed using Hg levels that most people wouldn’t dare to use, so aside from adaptation, maybe the penis layers does change the required intensity.

Ron, you are absolutely correct, at least in regard to length work. My point was that a single layer might gain easier, as in it would require less intensity to grow. Even the triple layer could grow, it would just take a lot more force to create similar results. In girth work I fear the single layer = faster gains might actually be the case, because the PE’er has much less ability to raise the degree of expansion force (lateral) when compared against stretching force (longitudinal) which is easy to increase when necessary.

Roots

I think there might be a correlation with the tunica albuginea layers and penises that are showers and growers. I assume showers have more layers than growers, hence the elasticity and/or volume to which showers expand to. I’ve been doing girth work for a long time without any results; assuming I’m a hard gainer with various tunica albuginea layers, how much can I expect in a year?

Thank god someone actually wanted to discuss this finally. I posted this thinking “wow, what a good idea for a thread!” and it has been a total flop so far. So thank you for your interest. :)

I think you are right. I mean I’m sure that there is more to what makes someone a “shower” or a “grower,” but I think the number of layers could factor into things hugely. Extreme growers might have only a single layer while extreme showers might have two or three layers.

I am an a pretty hardcore grower. On some days, when my flaccid hang is short, I literally almost double in size when erect. This and some other factor leads me to believe that it is POSSIBLE that I have only a single tunica layer:

1) pretty extreme grower (though since hanging I have started to hang a bit longer on average when flaccid)
2) full stretched length is significantly shorter than erect length
3) I get an erection easily, have no ED, but need to be stimulated almost to the point of orgasm to be rock hard
4) this is related to the above point, my erect length increases almost linearly with my level of stimulation (how close I am to orgasm)
5) I appear to gain length very easily
6) little force is required to stretch my cock into the “gains” range when compared to someone who has been hanging as long as I have

There is no way to know for sure, but I think the points above mostly indicate a single layer or thin/weak bi-layer tunica.

Roots

Oh, and to answer your question, it is hard to say how much you could gain. Impossible actually. The only way to gain girth is to cause enough expansion to breach the elastic threshold of the tunica. This would require a lot of force for a triple-layer tunica. Possibly more than pumping and even clamping could produce. You may need to get creative to cause the necessary expansion.

What does your girth routine look like now?

“Possibly more than pumping and even clamping could produce” Wouldn’t that mean I should give up? How can I gain if the most intense girth workouts may not work?

Currently I’m doing one day on one off. I do Frendos, which you already know about from Red. I do one set of 18 minutes, after that I clamp for 10 minutes. My warm-up is clamping for 7-10minutes. Recently I’ve been clamping on off days(morning, mid day, and night) to keep the expansion, and to keep as much blood in. I don’t think warming up with heat helps - I might try that another time, but I believe in my case it creates more fluid build-up. “You may need to get creative to cause the necessary expansion” what would that be?

Heat helps, period. Tissues expand more when heated and retain more of the expansion. Also, time-dependent viscoelastic expansion happens much faster when heat is applied, a very important factor when the tissue is only being stretched for 10-20 minutes and then not stretched many more times after that. Also, heat usually reduces fluid retention. You should play around with constant heat like from an IR lamp or some such.

And definitely don’t give up! That was a completely hypothetical prediction, not specifically about you. We don’t even know you have a triple layer situation. And even if you do I don’t know for a fact that no amount of expansion you could produce would breach the elastic threshold. If you are resistant to expansion though, you just might need to do a bit more work to see gains. I would not give up until you have tried it all, and then some. ;)

And about getting creative, I think frendo’s are pretty much the epitome of creative. Really anything that produces a lot of expansion force, or allows you to maximize time and thus viscoelastic expansion.

The best ways I can think of to increase the intensity of the expansion force would be with clamped exercises like clamped jelqs, horse squeezes, and squash jelqs; and rolling pins and tiles, of course!

The best to increase viscoelastic expansion would be repeated clamping sessions, each as long as is safe. Also, marathon pumping.

The problem with girth work is that too much intensity or time will kill your EQ and gets unsafe really fast. You just gotta figure out your personal fine line for safety.

Roots

Do you believe someone with two/three layers would achieve girth gains(aside from base) from hanging? Do you use an IR lamp? If so, did you start PE with it, or did you use it later on? If the latter, what was the difference in gains?

I don’t think anyone will gain significant girth just through hanging, except at the base.

And yes, I use an IR lamp. I’ve used it ever since I started hanging, so I can’t tell you the difference from personal experience. It’s just that every study that examines the effect of heat on stretched connective tissue, either in vivo or in vitro, concludes the same thing: heat helps tissue expand more efficiently and makes expansion safer.