What Does The Prostate Do
The prostate is not essential for life, but it is important for reproduction. Healthy semen is the perfect consistency and environment for sperm transit and survival, and for fertilization. Semen includes enzymes like PSA , as well as other substances made by the seminal vesicles and prostate, such as zinc, citrate, and fructose . Semen also contains substances that may protect the urinary tract and sperm from bacteria and other pathogens.
The prostate typically grows during adolescence, under the control of the male hormone testosterone and its byproduct dihydrotestosterone . Testosterone is primarily made in the testes, but a smaller amount it is also made in the adrenal glands above the kidneys.
Helping To Produce Semen
2030% of fluid to the total semen volume. The remainder comes from the seminal vesicles and the testicles .
Prostatic fluid contains components that make semen an ideal substance for sperm cells to live in, including enzymes, zinc, and citric acid. One important enzyme is prostate-specific antigen , which helps make the semen thinner and more fluid.
The fluid in semen helps the sperm travel down the urethra and survive the journey towards an egg, which is essential for reproduction.
Prostatic fluid is slightly acidic, but other components of semen make it alkaline overall. This is to counteract the acidity of the vagina and protect the sperm from damage.
Clinical Relevance Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the increase in size of the prostate, without the presence of malignancy. It is much more common with advancing age, although initial histological evidence of hyperplasia may be evident from much earlier ages .
The enlarged prostate may compress the urethra, resulting in symptoms that refer to impaired storage of urine and symptoms that refer to impaired voiding .
BPH is usually caused by hyperplasia of the glands from the transitional zone of the prostate.
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What Does The Prostate Gland Actually Do
The prostate gland isnt essential for life, but it is vital for reproduction and is part of the male reproductive system.
The function of the prostate is to produce a slightly alkaline fluid called the prostatic fluid that makes up part of the seminal fluid, or semen.
The rest of semen is composed of sperm cells from the testicles, fluid from the seminal vesicles, and secretions from the pea-sized bulbourethral gland.
The prostatic fluid contains substances that are important to the functioning and survival of sperm cells, such as the enzyme prostate-specific antigen , which thins or loosens up semen, helping the tadpole-like sperm cells swim freely to reach the egg.
The Prostate Is Responsible For Producing The Fluid That Makes Up Semen Filtering Sperm And Maintaining An Erection
You may be aware that prostate gland performs some functions but do you know everything this busy gland does? Although it is just a small gland the size of a walnut the prostate is responsible for keeping the male reproductive system on task.
The prostate prevents urine from mixing with sperm when a man ejaculates
Located in front of the rectum and just below the bladder surrounding the urethra, it completes various functions over the course of the day to keep the male reproductive system up and running. These include:
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Performing A Prostate Massage
Prostate massage can be performed on your own, but it can also be performed by your health practitioner, or your sexual partner. Although the procedure may seem awkward to some men, prostate massage can be really helpful to those suffering from any type of prostate related complications. There are three ways of performing a prostate massage external, internal, and using a prostate massage device.
What Does A Prostate Orgasm Feel Like
P-spot orgasms are said to feel similar to penile orgasms, only way more intense and felt through the entire body.
There are reports of people having super orgasms, which are a stream of fast, continuous orgasms that cause the body to shudder.
Not everyone ejaculates during a prostate orgasm, but some release a dribble of milky fluid from the urethra.
A little bit of prep can help make the experience a good one whether youre flying solo, or on the giving or receiving end of things.
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How Do You Decide Whether To Get A Psa Scan
As you can see, theres a lot of debate. To help cut through, the RACGP has published a decision-making tool.
Take 2000 men aged between 55 and 69, and give 1000 of them an annual PSA test every year for 11 years. What happens?
Five men will die from prostate cancer in the untested group and four in the tested group. Overall, one life will be saved. Some would argue this is an excellent thing mortality cut by about 20 per cent.
However, the tested group bear significant side effects. Some 87 men will learn their test was a false positive after having a surgical biopsy. Some 25 men will choose to be treated because they are fearful of their cancers as a result of the treatment, seven to 10 men will experience impotence or incontinence. Theres a mental dimension as well men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer are more likely to develop anxiety and depression.
Importantly, because of the amount of time it takes for prostate cancer to kill, men with life expectancies of fewer than 10 to 15 years are unlikely to get much benefit from screening.
For Will McDonald, over-diagnosis wasnt a problem. The cancer had spread he needed treatment immediately. He went through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone deprivation therapy, stripping nearly all the testosterone from his body.
I feel very fortunate to be able to say this, but it barely touched the sides. I had so little side effects, I was so lucky, he says.
Ok What Is The Prostate Whats It For
The prostate is a gland in men, just below the bladder. It is small, the size of a walnut in a 25-year-old, weighing about 30 grams. It partially surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis. Nerves, including those crucial for erection, run along the outside surface of the prostate to the penis which explains why damage to this small gland can have outsized effects on a mans sexual function.
The prostate plays a key role in fertility, producing enzymes and hormones that help sperm function normally, as well as producing much of the fluid that, combined with sperm from the testes, makes up semen.
Unlike other organs, the prostate is not static in size.A natural thing that happens to our prostates as they get older is they get bigger. Its not so much a disease I describe it as natural ageing of the prostate, says Professor Declan Murphy, director of genito-urinary oncology at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
You have to remember what the prostate does: its the organ of ejaculation. Its there for reproduction. I dont think mother nature really intended it to live to be 60, 70, 80 years old because its done its job by then. It loses its ability to have normal regulation.
An approximate illustration of the prostates change in size over a mans life. Credit:Monique Westermann
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Treatment For Prostate Disease
Treatment for prostatitis may include antibacterial drugs and supportive treatments, depending on the type of prostatitis.Treatment for BPH may include medications to relax the smooth muscle of the gland or to shrink the size of the prostate, and surgery to produce a permanently widened channel in the part of the urethra that passes through the prostate.Treatment for prostate cancer is tailored to suit individual circumstances. The nature of the cancer, other health problems the person may have, and their wishes will all be taken into account.Management approaches for prostate cancer include:
- active surveillance
- ablative treatments such as high-intensity focused ultrasound and NanoKnife®
- hormone treatment
- chemotherapy
Symptoms Of Prostate Disease
In its earliest stages, prostate disease may or may not be associated with symptoms. The symptoms of prostate disease depend on the condition, but may include:
- difficulties urinating, such as trouble starting the flow of urine
- the urge to urinate often, particularly at night
- feeling as though the bladder cant be fully emptied
- painful urination
- blood in the urine or blood coming from the urethra independent of urination.
Blood in the urine is often due to causes not related to the prostate. Always see your doctor if you find blood in your urine.
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Prostate Cancer: Risk Factors Symptoms And Treatment
Aside from prostatitis and BPH, another common prostate issue is prostate cancer.
Excluding skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among American men, according to the American Cancer Society. About 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.
The risk of developing prostate cancer is higher for men who are over age 65, are African-American, or have a family history of the disease.
Most often, prostate cancer develops slowly, but some men develop an aggressive form of the disease.
Early prostate cancer generally doesnt cause any symptoms. Symptoms generally develop as the disease progresses and include:
- Urination issues
- Numbness of the legs and feet
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
What Do You Do If You Are Diagnosed
The side effects of treating prostate cancer can be quite serious. Thats why, for men with low-risk prostate cancer, doctors have been pushing hard to ensure that most get treated with active surveillance.
Thats right: the most common treatment for prostate cancer is to simply to leave it and watch.
Men sometimes struggle with this idea: What do you mean youre going to leave it there?, says Murphy.
In addition to where the prostate cancer is located, doctors are also interested in how aggressively it is growing. A man with a slow-growing cancer in the prostate but nowhere else will usually be put on the active surveillance protocol. They will undergo a PSA test every three to six months, as well as regular MRI scans and physical exams.
Thats been one of the great advances in the last five or 10 years: active surveillance, says Heathcote.
If the results of the tests show the cancer is growing faster or more aggressively, action will be taken. For about one in three men on active surveillance, the cancer will grow and spread, and action will need to be taken.
The other 70 per cent of that group will never need treatment, says Murphy. And thats really interesting, isnt it? Developing cancer in the prostate can be looked at really as a natural form of ageing.
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Prostatitis: A Common Prostate Problem In Younger Men
Prostatitis, or prostate inflammation, is the most common prostatic and urinary tract problem for men under age 50, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases . It accounts for 2 million doctor visits in the United States each year.
There are several types of prostatitis.
Prostatitis caused by bacteria is known as bacterial prostatitis, and it can cause an acute or chronic infection.
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Prostate Cancer And Sexual Health
A prostate cancer diagnosis can leave you feeling anxious, frustrated, and depressed.
It may also leave you wondering about your ability to have sex. You may also be questioning how prostate cancer treatment can affect your sex life.
Prostate cancer rarely causes problems with sex, but the treatments for prostate cancer often affect penile function and reproduction.
Prostate surgery and radiation are the two most common treatments for prostate cancer. Both of these can affect the nerves in your penis and could cause sexual problems like erectile dysfunction .
Cryotherapy and ultrasound therapy can also cause ED. Your doctor may recommend hormone therapy or radiation therapy, as well. This therapy can lower your sex drive.
Radical prostatectomy is the most effective nerve-sparing surgery for prostate cancer. It can substantially limit the duration of post-surgical ED but requires a surgeon to be highly skilled and trained in the process.
In this type of procedure, the surgeon takes care not to damage the erectile nerves that surround the prostate as it is removed.
However, if cancer has infiltrated these nerves, it may not be possible to save them.
Preventing injury to these nerves dramatically improves the chances of a man recovering erectile function within two years of the surgery.
In addition to ED, you may also find that your orgasms are different after undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
They may not feel as strong, and you will not see as much ejaculate.
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Symptoms Of Urinary Problems
Urinary symptoms commonly experienced with prostate problems include:
- the need to urinate frequently during the night
- urinating more often during the day
- urinary urgency the urge to urinate can be so strong and sudden that you may not reach the toilet in time
- the urine stream is slow to start
- urine dribbling for some time after finishing urination
- a sensation that the bladder isnt fully emptied after urination
- lack of force to the urine flow, which makes directing the stream difficult
- the sensation of needing to go again soon after urinating.
Although these symptoms often do not need treatment, see your doctor if they are causing you difficulty, as they can be successfully treated.
Gene And Protein Expression
About 20,000 protein coding genes are expressed in human cells and almost 75% of these genes are expressed in the normal prostate. About 150 of these genes are more specifically expressed in the prostate, with about 20 genes being highly prostate specific. The corresponding specific proteins are expressed in the glandular and secretory cells of the prostatic gland and have functions that are important for the characteristics of semen, including prostate-specific proteins, such as the prostate specific antigen , and the Prostatic acid phosphatase.
In the developing embryo, at the hind end lies an inpouching called the cloaca. This, over the fourth to the seventh week, divides into a urogenital sinus and the beginnings of the anal canal, with a wall forming between these two inpouchings called the urorectal septum. The urogenital sinus divides into three parts, with the middle part forming the urethra the upper part is largest and becomes the urinary bladder, and the lower part then changes depending on the biological sex of the embryo.
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Other Names For Prostate Orgasm
The prostate is sometimes called the male g-spot, or the p-spot, a reference to the area inside the vagina, called the g-spot, that may lead to orgasm.
Some people use the phrase âprostate milkingâ instead of prostate massage.
âProstate massage,â âprostate orgasm,â and âprostate milkingâ are often used interchangeably. However, some use âprostate milkingâ to describe only orgasms from internal, rather than perineal, massage.
What Does The Prostate Gland Do
ByMolika Ashfordpublished 9 August 10
The prostate gland is a male reproductive organ whose main function is to secrete prostate fluid, one of the components of semen. The muscles of the prostate gland also help propel this seminal fluid into the urethra during ejaculation .
The prostate is a muscular gland that weighs about three-fourths of an ounce about the size of a small apricot. It surrounds the urethra just beneath the bladder .
During ejaculation, millions of sperm move from the testes through tubes called the vas deferens into the area of the prostate. At this point, the prostate contracts, closing off the opening between the bladder and the urethra, releasing fluid into the urethra and pushing semen on through.
The fluid excreted by the prostate makes up about one-third of the total volume of semen and contains various enzymes, zinc and citric acid. Though prostate fluid is slightly acidic, another fluid in semen made by the seminal vesicles leaves semen slightly alkaline, or basic. This alkalinity helps protect sperm and prolong their life after they are deposited in the acidic environment of the vagina, according to the biology textbook, “Life: The Science of Biology, Eighth Addition” .
A growing prostate can also signal cancer. It is estimated that more than 200,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010, according to the National Cancer Institute.
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What Are The Treatment Options For Prostate Enlargement
Enlarged Prostate Management Options
Each treatment option for an enlarged prostate has various benefits, risks and consequences. In collaboration with health.org.uk, we’ve put together a summary decision aid that encourages patients and doctors to discuss and assess what’s available.
No treatment is likely to clear all symptoms totally, although symptoms can usually be greatly improved with treatment. The treatments considered usually depend on how severe and bothersome your symptoms are.
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The prostatic fluid mixes with sperm and fluid from the seminal vesicles which makes up the majority of semen and contains various other components, including the fructose that provides the main energy source for sperm outside of the body inside of the urethra.
Changes in the composition or secretion of the prostatic fluid affects the health and function of sperm, impacting male fertility. These changes may arise due to various health issues with the prostate.
Learn More About the Form and Function of the Prostate
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