Prostate Gland

A human male’s anatomical make-up is composed of several glands, one of which is the prostate gland. This prostate gland is exclusively for males because it cannot be found among female’s anatomy.

Prostate gland or prostate has the same size of a walnut fruit. It is located near the bladder, which is placed above it, while below the prostate gland is the rectum while it the urethra is wrapped around it. Prostate gland is both muscular and glandular. The gland functions as the storage of an alkaline substance secreted together with the semen in men’s ejaculation. The muscle serves as the catapult that helps in expelling the seminal fluids.

Under normal conditions prostate may have the size of the walnut that is if the human male is in his pubertal stage. As he grow older the size of the prostate may undergo some changes in size which could be bigger that the usual walnut. This instance is generally common to males who are more than 50 years old. When this happens men will start to suffer the effects of prostate problems.

The common prostate problems are proctitis, which happens when the prostate is inflamed due to infection either caused by bacteria or germs; benign prostatic hyperplasia also known as enlarged prostate or BPH in short; and cancer, which is one of the most feared problems in prostate.

The most common symptoms among the three problems of the prostate gland are difficulty in making the first stream in urinating, unusual urge to urinate and to re-urinate, burning and inconvenient sensation, and presence of blood in the urine.

The causes of these prostate gland-related problems like BPH and cancer have not been fully identified in spite the many researches done. The experts could only identify the factors that might put men at risk of getting any of the two diseases. Age is one o the most common risk factors. BPH and cancer are mostly present among men who are 50 years old and above, and 65 years old and above respectively.

Race and generic history are linked to cancer. The cases of prostate cancer are much higher among African Americans than Asians and American Indians. Those men who have a sibling and parent that have been diagnosed to have cancer have higher probability of getting the same disease.

There are several tests that will help rule out the presence of these diseases. Digital rectal examination, prostate-specific antigen blood test, and prostate biopsy are among the many diagnostic procedures. The necessity of the tests may vary according to the symptoms present.

Like wise the treatment can also differ from one patient to another. Still age and the presence of other illness are the determining factors in choosing the suitable treatment. Radiotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery are the common treatment for cancer, while antibiotic is generally taken in treating proctitis while surgery, non-surgical procedure and drugs are the different treatment options for BPH.