The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM, formerly known as ISIR/ISSIR) was established in 1978 for the purpose of promoting research and exchange of knowledge for the clinical entity "impotence" throughout the international scientific community. The principal orientation of ISSM was initially towards basic science of erection, defects in the erectile mechanism, and the clinical aspects of diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction. The orientation is now towards the whole field of human sexuality.