urology

Urology is a medical specialty that focuses on diseases of the male and female urinary system. Urologists may use many different tests when diagnosing or screening for a urologic condition. Because proper urinary function requires coordination of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra, urological symptoms could have many possible causes. Doctors will usually recommend a variety of diagnostic tests depending on the specific symptoms.

Urine collection and blood tests are commonly the first steps in diagnosing and screening urologic conditions. Imaging tests such as pyelogram, cystography, CT scan or ultrasound of the kidney, prostate/rectal sonogram and renal angiogram provide visibility into the urinary tract to look for blockages, tumors and other abnormalities. Cystometry and urine flow tests help doctors assess whether urinary function is normal.

Common Urologic Conditions:

• Overactive bladder is a condition in which the bladder squeezes urine out at the wrong time. You may have overactive bladder if you have two or more of these symptoms: You urinate eight or more times a day or two or more times at night. You have the sudden, strong need to urinate immediately.
• Male and female incontinence is the loss of bladder control. The severity ranges from occasionally leaking urine when you cough or sneeze to having an urge to urinate that's so sudden and strong you don't get to a toilet in time.
• Bladder or kidney infections are types of urinary tract infections (UTI).
• Kidney stones are hard, crystalline mineral material formed within the kidney or urinary tract. Kidney stones are a common cause of blood in the urine (hematuria) and often severe pain in the abdomen, flank, or groin.
• Kidney Cancer happens when healthy cells in one or both kidneys grow out of control and form a lump (called a tumor).
• Bladder Cancer develops when cells in the bladder begin to grow abnormally. Rather than grow and divide in an orderly way, these cells develop mutations that cause them to grow out of control and not die.

Urologists also specialize in conditions that affect the male reproductive organs. Common conditions include:

• Circumcision is the surgical removal of the skin covering the tip of the penis.
• Erectile dysfunction is defined as persistent difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection sufficient to have sex.
• Vasectomy is minor surgery to block sperm from reaching the semen that is ejaculated from the penis.
• Prostate Cancer is cancer that occurs in the prostate — a small walnut-shaped gland that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.