PROSTATE GLAND, the pale, firm body composed of both muscle and gland, in shape resembling a chestnut, which surrounds the neck of the bladder and the beginning of the urethra in the male. It consists of two lateral lobes and one middle lobe. The excretory ducts from the glandular substance of the organ open into the prostatic portion of the urethra. It is well supplied with blood-vessels and nerves and is enclosed in a thin but firm fibrous capsule. The secretion of the prostate is a milky, vis cous fluid of acid reaction, discharged under sexual excitement with the semen and forming for the latter a fluid vehicle. Enlargement of one or more lobes of the prostate is very com mon in men over 55. The cause is not known. It is said that such enlargement has never been found in eunuchs, or where the testicles have been lost. The enlargement encroaches on the rectum and urethra, interfering with their functions, the bladder Lecoming distended; its walls may be thin and inefficient and a cystitis may be set up. In this disorder the stream of urine becomes slower; there is a frequent desire to urinate, even at night, but only a few ounces of urine are passed each time. Exhaustion, sepsis from retained urine and sometimes local hemorrhage cause enlarged prostate to be a serious condition. Treatment includes mild and easily digested food, regulation of the bowels, freedom from exposure to cold and damp and the careful use of the catheter. Sometimes enucleation of the enlarged gland (prostatect omy) is of value; so are Bottini's operation, burning a channel through the obstructing mass, and vasectomy, the cutting of the vas deferens.
Removal of the testicle to reduce the size of the prostate is sometimes resorted to. Acute pros tatitis, an acute inflammation, is most often due to gonorrhoea or to strong injections for its re lief, but may arise from the irritation of calculi or the use of instruments, etc. The symptoms are painful and frequent micturition, swelling, high fever, retention of urine and tenderness in the region of the lower bowel and the neck of the bladder. The inflammation may progress so far that suppuration (prostatic abscess) oc curs. The treatment requires rest in bed, hot anodyne fomentations, leeches, purgation and opening of the abscess. Chronic prostatitis may be the sequel of the acute form, or it may be primary. There is less swelling, pain and tenderness than in the acute. It is a condition which needs the supervision of the physician or surgeon. Tubercular disease of the prostate may either be primary or be secondary to simi lar disease of the testes. There are nodular lumps, which may break down and produce an abscess. The disease may invade the bladder and the whole urinary tract. The prostate is subject, though rarely, to malignant tumors, carcinoma and sarcoma. Prostatic calculi about the size of millet-seed are quite common in old men. They rarely give rise to noticeable symp toms unless inflammation occurs. Sometimes they are voided or they may form the nucleus of a prostatic calculus.