Prostatitis

• What is prostatitis?
• What is the prostate?
• What are the types of prostatitis?
  • Acute bacterial prostatitis
  • Chronic bacterial prostatitis
  • Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome
  • Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis
• How is prostatitis diagnosed?
• How is prostatitis treated?
• Hope through research
• For more information?

What is prostatitis?

Prostatitis is a frequently painful condition that affects mostly young and middle-aged men. Doctors may have difficulty diagnosing prostatitis because the symptoms are not the same for every patient, and many of the symptoms - such as painful or burning urination and incomplete emptying of the bladder - could be signs of another disease.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that forms part of the male reproductive system. The gland is made of two lobes, or regions, enclosed by an outer layer of tissue. As the picture below shows, the prostate is located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder, where urine is stored. The prostate also surrounds the urethra, the canal through which urine and semen pass out of the body. The prostate squeezes fluid into the urethra to help make up semen as sperm move through during sexual climax.

Researchers estimate that 10 to 12 percent of men experience prostatitis-like symptoms. The term prostatitis means inflammation of the prostate, but doctors use the term to describe four different disorders.

Picture/Illustration: The prostate gland in relation to other structures

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

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