Additional images
See also
Femoral nerve stretch test

References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 955 of the 20th edition of Grays Anatomy (1918)

External links
Femoral nerve at the Duke University Health Systems Orthopedics program
MedlinePlus Encyclopedia: 000687 - "Femoral nerve dysfunction" (includes illustration)
Anatomy photo:40:17-0202 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: Nerves of the Lumbar Plexus"
Cross section image: pembody/body15a—Plastination Laboratory at the Medical University of Vienna
Cross section image: pelvis/pelvis-e12-15—Plastination Laboratory at the Medical University of Vienna
arteries-nerves%20LE/nerves1 at the Dartmouth Medical Schools Department of Anatomy
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) mentions paruresis by name.Kaplan & Sadocks Synopsis of Psychiatry states, "Persons with social phobias (also called social anxiety disorder) have excessive fears of humiliation or embarrassment in various social settings, such as in speaking in public, urinating in a public rest room (also called shy bladder), and speaking to a date." The Synopsis describes shy bladder as "inability to void in a public bathroom" and notes that relaxation exercises are an application of behavior therapy for dealing with this disorder. Some paruretics experience delayed urination and must wait for their need to void to overcome their anxiety, while others are unable to urinate at all. Treatment
In terms of treating the mental aspect of paruresis, such treatment can be achieved by graduated exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. In graduated exposure therapy, the subject has a trusted person stand outside the restroom at first, and once the fear is overcome the observer is brought closer in, until step by step the phobia is vanquished. The International Paruresis Association provides a detailed discussion of this method on its website. In addition to gradual exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy is used to change a patients mental approach to the condition, from one of a person who cannot urinate, to a person who can urinate or is not overly fearful when they cant publicly urinate.