prostate
Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.The prostate, or prostate gland, is a male sex gland that produces some of the sperm. Your secretion stimulates the mobility of the seminal threads. Along with the testicles, the prostate is one of the male reproductive organs. Read everything you need to know about the prostate: anatomy, function and important diseases such as benign prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and prostate cancer!
What is the prostate?
The prostate is a chestnut-sized gland in the male abdomen that completely encloses the beginning of the urethra. It is surrounded by a sturdy capsule (capsula prostatica) and consists of a central part and two side lobes. The paired sperm duct (ductus deferens) runs after the union with the excretory ducts of the seminal vesicles as ductus ejaculatorius in the prostate and there opens into the urethra.
The prostate gland consists of 30 to 50 small gland tubes that snake in the stroma, which consists of connective tissue and muscles. The prostate gland is small at birth, weighing about two grams. During puberty, it grows and weighs about 20 grams between the ages of 20 and 40. In old age it can weigh up to forty grams.
The prostate is divided into three zones:
- Periurethral zone (transition zone): the area around the urethra
- Central zone ("inner gland"): Its growth is stimulated by the female sex hormone estrogen, which is also produced in small quantities in men.
- Peripheral zone ("external gland"): Your growth is stimulated by male sex hormones (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone).
What is the function of the prostate?
The main function of the prostate is to produce a secretion that makes up about 20 percent of the total ejaculate. The thin, milky secretion serves as a nutrient solution for the sperm cells and contains everything they need on their way to the egg cell. This includes the protein spermine (stabilizes the DNA, i.e. the genetic material of the sperm) and PSA (prostate-specific antigen, liquefies the ejaculate). The prostate secretion is also slightly acidic (pH 6.4 - 6.8), which stimulates the mobility of the sperm.
During an ejaculation, the muscles of the prostate contract and press the fluid through the ducts of the gland into the urethra. At the same time, the secretions produced by the seminal vesicles and the sperm from the testes also enter the urethra.
Where is the prostate located?
The base of the prostate is at the base of the urinary bladder and its tip is at the urogenital diaphragm, the anterior pelvic floor. To the front it lies about two centimeters behind the symphysis (the point where the two pubic bones meet) and to the rear the prostate with its middle lobe is only separated from the rectum by a thin connective tissue septum. This proximity to the rectum makes it easy to examine the prostate via the rectum.
What problems can the prostate cause?
A prostate abscess is caused by a purulent meltdown of prostate tissue when the prostate gland becomes inflamed (prostatitis) or the surrounding tissue (for example the urethra).
Prostate adenoma is a benign enlargement of the prostate (also called benign prostatic hyperplasia) that occurs primarily in older men. The growth of tissue can cause the urethra to become narrowed, causing problems with urination.
Prostate cancer (prostate cancer) emerges mainly from the posterior sections of the prostate. It has a strong tendency to metastasize, which means that it easily forms daughter tumors - especially in the spine and pelvis.
Prostate concrements or stones arise from the encrustation of protein bodies in the glandular clearances of the prostate.
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