Of having a prostate - a small gland, having the size of a chestnut - men usually do not realize at all until a certain stage of their lives. However, the situation is different already in middle age, when the majority of male representatives experience enlargement of the prostate. However, how is the prostate gland built at all and what are its functions? What distinguishes prostate diseases?

Contents:

  1. Prostata - construction
  2. Prostate - vascularization and innervation
  3. Prostate - Features
  4. Prostate - diseases
  5. Prostate - research

Prostate(also known asprostate ,prostate gland , prostate) is a common organ only in men, which belongs to the structures of the reproductive system. The name of this organ is derived from the Greek word prostátēs, which literally translates to guardian.

The prostate, like most other male reproductive organs, is located within the pelvis. This gland is really small - its typical dimensions are about 4 x 3 x 2.5 cm, and the weight of the prostate is usually from 7 to 16 grams (on average it is 11 grams).

The size and shape of the protrusion is compared to a walnut or chestnut.

The prostate is located under the bladder, and from the bottom it touches the urogenital diaphragm. The front part of the prostate gland faces the symphysis pubis, while the back part is adjacent to the rectum. An important structure that runs through the prostate is the urethra - within the gland there is its prostatic part.

Prostata - construction

The entire gland is surrounded by a prostate capsule made of connective tissue, on which the prostate venous plexus is located. Within the prostate, two lobes are distinguished - the right and the left one, which are connected with each other by a knot (sometimes referred to as the middle lobe). The prostate lobes are additionally divided into lobes - within each of them, the inferior-posterior, inferolateral, upper-medial and anteromedial lobes are distinguished.

As for the internal structure of the prostate, it consists of 30 to 50 glands that are responsible for the production of substances secreted by it. Produced byprostate compounds - via the conductors of the prostate, the number of which ranges from 20 to 25 - are transported to the urethra.

In another division of the prostate, four zones are distinguished, which are:

  • anterior zone (anterior commissure), devoid of glandular weaving, composed of muscle and fibrous tissue
  • peripheral zone, making up the majority of the gland
  • central zone where the spurt pipes are located
  • transition zone, the smallest one that directly surrounds the urethra

Prostate - vascularization and innervation

The arterial vessels supplying the prostate come from the inferior bladder arteries and the inferior rectal artery.

Venous blood from the gland first flows towards the prostate venous plexus mentioned above, and then it flows into the venous plexuses (bladder and rectal) and into larger venous vessels (external vulva and internal iliac vein).

Lymph from the prostate is transported to the internal iliac lymph nodes. The nerve fibers that supply the prostate gland are derived from the pelvic plexus.

Prostate - Features

Although on a daily basis men do not think about the functions of the prostate at all, in fact this gland plays an extremely important role in the functioning of the reproductive system.

First of all, it produces an acidic secretion (usually having a pH of about 6.5), which contains many substances important for sperm - they increase their survival and positively affect the mobility of male reproductive cells. This secretion, as mentioned before, is transported through the conductors of the prostate gland to the urethra - it takes place during ejaculation.

Generally, the content produced by the prostate constitutes up to 30% of the total volume of semen that comes out of the penis during ejaculation, and is present in it, among others :

  • simple carbohydrates
  • various proteins and enzymes (including prostate specific antigen, PSA)
  • zinc

Prostate - diseases

Men usually find out about having a prostate gland when they develop one of the prostate diseases. In fact, unfortunately, most males develop one of these conditions during their lifetime - benign prostatic enlargement.

Due to the fact that the part of the prostate surrounding the urethra is quite often enlarged in the course of the disease, the basic symptom of this problem is difficulties with urinating (e.g.urine with an intermittent stream, frequent visits to the toilet or significant difficulties with the initiation of voiding).

The problem that should be differentiated from benign prostatic hyperplasia is prostate cancer - unfortunately, both of these units can lead to the occurrence of a similar type of ailments, therefore, in the event of experiencing ailments suggesting prostate enlargement, the patient should definitely go to doctor.

Another, also common, disease of the prostate is prostatitis - it can be acute and chronic, and is usually caused by bacteria.

Prostate - research

Several different tests are used to diagnose prostate disease. The basic one is the rectal examination - thanks to the fact that the gland is adjacent to the rectum, the doctor is able to initially assess the structure of the prostate, as well as to identify the presence of some nodular changes within it.

As you can easily guess, this test has some limitations - for this reason, in case of any doubts, patients are ordered additional tests, e.g. transrectal ultrasound, and sometimes also prostate biopsy.

It is valuable to determine the concentration of PSA in the blood, i.e. a specific prostatic antigen.

Patients are sometimes ordered to perform imaging tests, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis - these are carried out especially in people suspected of having malignant prostate cancer (they allow to assess the extent of the cancer and whether it is infiltrating any other organs).

Male killer? Prostata - Simply put

Source: youtube.com/ Simply Saying

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of medicine at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

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Category:

Male diseases