The Male Prostate

Benign problems with the prostate most commonly fall into one of two categories – prostatitis, and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or BPH.

One quarter of all men who have urinary problems have prostatitis. Prostatitis is a condition that causes infection or inflammation of the prostate. It appears in one of four types.

1) Non-bacterial prostatitis (NBP) has the same symptoms as CBP (see below), but the cause is not known. Pelvic floor myalgia or Prostatodynia (PFM) may cause pain in the pelvic area, prostate, and penis and/or may cause difficulties in urinating. It does not cause inflammation, and has no bacteria related to it.

Acute bacterial prostatitis (ABP) is caused by bacteria and may produce these symptoms: malaise, fever, chills, muscular pain, lower back pain, pain in pelvic area with urination, frequent urination (day & night), inability to empty the bladder, and/or pain with ejaculation. These symptoms may appear very quickly and may be severe. Chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) is caused by bacteria, and the symptoms are similar to ABP, but are not usually as severe or sudden.

2) The second major noncancerous problem of the prostate is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or simply BPH. As men age, the tissue of the prostate changes, resulting in enlargement. Men over the age of 40 may begin to experience symptoms of having an enlarged prostate, whether they know the cause or not. What causes BPH is not known, although it may be linked to heredity, high fat diets, and hormonal imbalance.

Not all men with BPH experience symptoms. However, if the enlarged prostate presses on the urethra, symptoms will result. Commonly experienced symptoms are: more frequent urination (day & night), not emptying the bladder completely, weak stream, inability to delay urination, difficulty stopping and starting, incontinence (no control), painful or bloody urination.

Though these problems can be annoying and even cause serious problems, they do not automatically mean you have cancer. Men over 50 should have a yearly checkup to be sure they have not developed prostate cancer. Prior to this test, itemize a history of any urinary problems you have had and the severity of each. This will help the doctor diagnose the problem. The good news is that most of the above symptoms can be eliminated or at least reduced medically. That is the subject of other articles.

Half of all men over the age of 50 either have or will have problems related to the prostate gland. Amazingly, one in six males are likely to develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. Though preventative measures can be taken to lower this risk, the focus of this article will be strictly related to the function of the prostate.

The prostate is a gland about the size and shape of a walnut. It is located in front of the rectum, just below the bladder and it surrounds the urethra that carries urine from the body. The prostate is an exocrine gland, so called because it secretes fluids through ducts to the outside of the body as sweat glands do. These fluids form part of semen and are stored with sperm in the seminal vesicles located behind the bladder. When the male climaxes, muscular contractions cause the prostate to secrete this fluid into the urethra, where it is expelled from the body through the penis.

In addition to the prostate’s role in producing these fluids, it also plays a part in controlling the flow of urine. The prostate wraps itself around the urethra as it passes from the bladder to the penis. Muscular fibers in the prostate contract to slow the flow of urine.