Urology

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an enlarged prostate gland . The prostate gland surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. As the prostate gets bigger, it may squeeze or partly block the urethra. This often causes problems with urinating.

BPH occurs in almost all men as they age. BPH is not cancer. An enlarged prostate can be a nuisance. But it is usually not a serious problem. About half of all men older than 75 have some symptoms.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is also known as benign prostatic hypertrophy.

Cancer is the growth of abnormal cells in the body. These extra cells grow together and form masses, called tumors. In bladder cancer, these growths happen in the bladder.

The bladder is the part of your urinary tract that stores your urine until you are ready to let it out. See a picture of the female urinary system or male urinary system.

Bladder cancer can often be successfully treated if it is found and treated early. And most bladder cancer is found early.

This topic is about the most common type of bladder cancer, called transitional cell cancer. This is cancer that starts in the inner layer of the bladder. It happens most often in people who are in their 60s or older.

A man has erection problems if he cannot get or keep an erection that is firm enough for him to have sex. Erection problems are also called erectile dysfunction or impotence.

Most men have erection problems every now and then. This is normal. These problems can occur at any age. But they are more common in older men, who often have other health problems. Treatment can help both older and younger men.

Kidney stones are made of salts and minerals in the urine that stick together to form small “pebbles.” They can be as small as grains of sand or as large as golf balls. They may stay in your kidneys or travel out of your body through the urinary tract . The urinary tract is the system that makes urine and carries it out of your body. It is made up of the kidneys, the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder (the ureters), the bladder, and the tube that leads from the bladder out of the body (the urethra).

When a stone travels through a ureter, it usually causes pain and other symptoms.

Kidney cancer starts when abnormal cells grow out of control in one or both kidneys. The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on either side of the spine, just below the ribs. They filter wastes from the blood and help balance water, salt, and mineral levels in the blood.

Another name for kidney cancer is renal cancer. “Renal” means having to do with the kidney.

Kidney cancer that is found early often can be successfully treated. But when it isn’t found early, the cancer may spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, the lungs, the bones, or the liver.

The most common cause of male infertility is low sperm count. Absence of sperm in the semen is less common, affecting 1 out of 100 men and affecting 10 to 15 out of 100 infertile men.

Causes of sperm count problems include:

• Hormonal problems in the testicles or pituitary gland. The pituitary gland releases hormones that stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone.
• Testicular injury or failure, either present at birth (congenital) or associated with radiation or toxic chemical exposure.
• Cancer treatment with certain kinds of chemotherapy or radiation.
• Antibodies that attack sperm and that also may be present in semen. Sperm antibodies sometimes develop when a man’s sperm has been exposed to his immune system (outside of the testicles). This may happen after a vasectomy, an infection, or an injury to the testicles.
• Drug use (some prescription medicines, and marijuana and tobacco use).
• Structural problems. These include:
• A varicocele in the testicles.
• Blocked ejaculation due to a surgical vasectomy.
• Absence of a vas deferens (a birth defect that may be associated with the cystic fibrosis genes).
• Retrograde ejaculation (the ejaculation of semen into the bladder rather than out through the penis).
• Chromosomal problems (such as Klinefelter syndrome).
• Genetic problems.

Prostate cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in a man’s prostate gland . The prostate sits just below the bladder. It makes part of the fluid for semen. In young men, the prostate is about the size of a walnut. As men age, the prostate usually grows larger.

Prostate cancer is common in men older than 65. It usually grows slowly and can take years to grow large enough to cause any problems. As with other cancers, treatment for prostate cancer works best when the cancer is found early. Often, prostate cancer that has spread responds to treatment. Older men who have prostate cancer usually die from other causes.

Experts don’t know what causes prostate cancer, but they believe that your age, family history (genetics), and race affect your chances of getting it.

Urinary incontinence is the accidental leaking of urine. It’s not a disease. It’s a symptom of a problem with a man’s urinary tract.

Urine is made by the kidneys and stored in a sac made of muscle, called the urinary bladder . A tube called the urethra leads from the bladder through the prostate and penis to the outside of the body. Around this tube is a ring of muscles called the urinary sphincter. As the bladder fills with urine, nerve signals tell the sphincter to stay squeezed shut while the bladder stays relaxed. The nerves and muscles work together to prevent urine from leaking out of the body.

When you have to urinate, the nerve signals tell the muscles in the walls of the bladder to squeeze. This forces urine out of the bladder and into the urethra. At the same time the bladder squeezes, the urethra relaxes. This allows urine to pass through the urethra and out of the body.

Your urinary tract is the system that makes urine and carries it out of your body. It includes your bladder and kidneys and the tubes that connect them. When germs get into this system, they can cause an infection.

Most urinary tract infections (UTIs) are bladder infections . A bladder infection usually is not serious if it is treated right away. If you do not take care of a bladder infection, it can spread to your kidneys. A kidney infection is serious and can cause permanent damage.