The prostate gland is an accessory organ of the male reproductive system. The gland produces fluid that flows into the urethra during ejaculation. The prostate gland rests below the urinary bladder, encircling the urethra, which carries urine and semen from the body. Prostate gland symptoms can be triggered by infection, inflammation and benign overgrowth. Symptoms may localize to the gland itself or the urinary bladder, due to their close proximity and shared outflow tract via the urethra.
Urinary Urgency
Urinary urgency describes the sensation of an intense need to urinate that proves difficult to control. An acute bacterial infection of the prostate, or acute prostatitis, characteristically causes the abrupt onset of urinary urgency, notes the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Chronic bacterial prostatitis, in contrast, typically causes intermittent urinary urgency. In both acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate leads to urinary urgency.
Noncancerous growth of the prostate, or benign prostatic hypertrophy, also causes urinary urgency by a different mechanism. With this condition, the enlarged prostate causes partial blockage of urinary outflow, explains the American Urological Association. The bladder fails to empty upon urination, causing a condition wherein the bladder quickly attains maximal fullness between urination attempts. The fully distended bladder reacts with forceful contractions, giving rise to the sensation of urinary urgency.
Increased Urinary Frequency
Acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis and benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH, commonly cause increased urinary frequency, reports the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Inflammation and irritation of the prostate and bladder tissues trigger this symptom with acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, although the symptom is more prominent with acute prostatitis. With BPH, incomplete bladder emptying precipitates increased urinary frequency, which often wakes the patient during the night.
Painful Urination
Acute bacterial prostatitis characteristically causes stinging or burning pain with urination, according to the American Urological Association. Swelling and tenderness of the prostate on examination distinguishes acute bacterial prostatitis from a bladder or kidney infection, which can also cause this symptom.
Men with chronic bacterial prostatitis often experience intermittent painful urination. The inflammatory symptoms of urinary urgency, frequency and painful urination characteristically wax and wane with chronic bacterial prostatitis and are typically less intense than with acute bacterial prostatitis.
Prostate Pain
Bacterial infections of the prostate and chronic nonbacterial prostatitis commonly cause prostate pain, which usually manifests in the area between the anus and scrotum, notes the American Urological Association. Some men also experience pain in the testicles, penis and lower abdomen. Pain may worsen with ejaculation.
In men with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis, pain is typically the prominent symptom, notes "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals." The condition is alternatively known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Notably, BPH is typically a painless condition.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Prostate Enlargement: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Prostatitis: Disorders of the Prostate
- American Urological Association: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) Treatment Options
- American Urological Association: Prostatitis: Symptoms, Causes and Treatments
- Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Prostatitis (Prostatodynia)
