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Prostate Pathology

Prostate pathology involves the study, identification and diagnosis of diseases that affect the prostate gland. Prostatitis is an inflammation and enlargement of the prostate gland and several diseases that affect the prostate can manifest with similar symptoms such as frequent, difficult and painful urination being the most common symptoms of each disease. Bacterial infection is often the cause of most prostate diseases.

  1. Acute Prostatitis

    • Acute prostatitis stems from a bacterial infection. Common bacterial causes of acute prostatitis include E.coli, staphylococcus aureus, and enterococcus among others. Acute prostatitis causes symptoms such as frequent and painful urination, lower back pain and fever. An examination of a patient's urine will reveal white blood cells in addition to the presence of bacteria.

    Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis

    • Chronic bacterial prostatitis is a bacterial infection that causes recurring urinary tract infections. The common bacterial cause for chronic bacterial prostatitis is E. coli. Doctors identity the bacteria in cultures of the patient's urine or prostate fluid.

    Prostatitis and Pelvic Pain

    • Chronic prostatits/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) results in pelvic pain similar to prostatitis, but without the presence of a bacterial infection. Patients with CP/CPPS experience pelvic pain for at least three months. Symptoms also include frequent urination, fatigue and pain in the lower back and rectum. Examinations will reveal a higher than normal white blood cell count.

    Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

    • Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) involves an enlargement of the prostate that results in frequent, difficult and painful urination. Individuals with BPH may have difficulty beginning urination. The prostate can swell enough to obstruct the urethra, making urination extremely difficult. Obstruction of the urinary tract causes urine retention which can cause infection in the bladder. BPH results from higher than normal levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the prostate gland.

    Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia

    • Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) is an abnormal development of the epithelial tissue that lines the prostate glands and can likely lead to prostatic carcinoma or prostate cancer. PIN increases a patient's risk for prostate cancer, but differentiates from prostate cancer in that the basal layer of cells remains intact although with disruptions or fragments.

    Prostate Cancer

    • Prostate cancer involves an obstruction of the urethra resulting in difficult and painful urination, but examinations will also reveal carcinomas and metastases on the lymph nodes and bones. Doctors diagnose prostate cancer using transrectal ultrasonography, digital rectal examination or a blood test to screen for higher than normal levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) which is a protein present in prostate cells.

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