Prostate gland

Prostate gland
: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the bladder. Chestnut shaped, the prostate surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the canal that empties the bladder. The prostate is actually not one but many glands, 30-50 in number, between which is abundant tissue containing many bundles of smooth muscle. The secretion of the prostate is a milky fluid that is discharged into the urethra at the time of the ejaculation of semen. The origin of the name "prostate" is quite curious. The word is from the Greek "prostates", to stand before. The anatomist Herophilus called it the prostate because, as he saw matters, it stands before the testes.

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prostate gland n a firm partly muscular partly glandular body that is situated about the base of the mammalian male urethra and secretes an alkaline viscid fluid which is a major constituent of the ejaculatory fluid called also prostate

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a male accessory sex gland that opens into the urethra just below the bladder and vas deferens. During ejaculation it secretes an alkaline fluid that forms part of the semen. The prostate may become enlarged in elderly men (benign prostatic hyperplasia; BPH). This may result in obstruction of the neck of the bladder, impairing urination. The bladder dilates and the increased pressure is transmitted through the ureters to the kidney nephrons, leading to damage and impaired function of the kidneys. Treatment is by transurethral resection of the prostate (see also prostatectomy) or by means of drugs (finasteride or alpha blockers).

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prostate.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • prostate gland — prostate UK [ˈprɒˌsteɪt] / US [ˈprɑˌsteɪt] or prostate gland UK / US noun [countable] Word forms prostate : singular prostate plural prostates medical the organ in a man s body that produces a liquid that combines with and carries sperm …   English dictionary

  • prostate gland — n. a partly muscular gland surrounding the urethra at the base of the bladder in most male mammals: it secretes an alkaline fluid that is discharged with the sperm …   English World dictionary

  • prostate gland — Anat. an organ that surrounds the urethra of males at the base of the bladder, comprising a muscular portion, which controls the release of urine, and a glandular portion, which secretes an alkaline fluid that makes up part of the semen and… …   Universalium

  • prostate gland — gland surrounding the male urethra at the base of the bladder which produces sperm …   English contemporary dictionary

  • prostate gland cancer — cancer located in the prostate gland (male sex gland) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • prostate gland — noun a firm partly muscular chestnut sized gland in males at the neck of the urethra; produces a viscid secretion that is the fluid part of semen • Syn: ↑prostate • Derivationally related forms: ↑prostatic (for: ↑prostate) • Hypernyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • prostate gland — a male accessory sex gland that opens into the urethra just below the bladder and vas deferens (see illustration). During ejaculation it secretes an alkaline fluid that forms part of the semen. The prostate may become enlarged in elderly men… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • prostate gland — pros′tate gland n. anat. a partly muscular gland that surrounds the urethra of males at the base of the bladder and secretes an alkaline fluid that makes up part of the semen • Etymology: 1830–40 …   From formal English to slang

  • prostate gland — /ˈprɒsteɪt glænd / (say prostayt gland) noun the composite gland which surrounds the urethra of males at the base of the bladder …  

  • prostate gland — noun A gland in male mammals surrounding the urethra just below the urinary bladder that controls the release of urine from the bladder and produces a secretion that is the fluid part of semen …   Wiktionary

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