Fans of Grey's Anatomy will remember that a character fractured his penis during sex last season. Within hours of it's airing, the phrases ``penile fracture'' and ``broken penis'' were top search terms on Google.

According to Tom Lue, professor of urology at University of California San Francisco, ``Penile fractures occur more often than people think. We usually see at least one per month at our hospital.''

Drogo Montague, director of the center for genitourinary reconstruction at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, explains that arousal causes rapidly pumping blood to get trapped in the penis. The surrounding stretchy sheath expands and thins as the penis thickens and lengthens.

If it stretches beyond a certain point, the layers can rip, releasing a small surge of blood. Doctors call this a fracture despite the lack of bones in the penis. Young men are more risk because of the ``athleticism of their activities'' and certain positions are more perilous than others.

Treatment for a penile fracture is usually accomplished with emergency surgery and most men can resume a normal sex life.

That perilous position you're dying to know? The woman on top because if she bends too far, it can create excessive torque on the penis.

Lynda G. Shrager is an occupational therapist, author and consultant.