Urethra

The urethra is the tube that lets urine leave your bladder and your body. If you were assigned male at birth, your urethra passes through your prostate and into your penis. If you were assigned female at birth, your urethra is much shorter. It runs from your bladder to open in front of your vagina.

What does the urethra do? The urethra is part of your urinary system. This system is made up of your kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra. Your kidneys clean your blood and produce urine, a waste product. From your two kidneys, two ureters move the urine to the bladder, where it’s stored until you urinate (pee). Urine leaves your body through a hole at the end of your urethra. That hole from the inside to the outside is called the urethral meatus. (The term ‘meatus’ refers to any opening from the inside to the outside.)

Your urinary system is made up of the kidneys, the bladder, the ureters and the urethra. The urethra is the hollow tube that lets urine, a waste product, leave the body. The urethra can become infected or scarred.

Where is the urethra located?
The urethra is a passageway located in your body’s pelvic region. The walls of the tube are thin and made up of epithelial tissue, smooth muscle cells and connective tissue.

The urethra has two different types of sphincters, or muscles that act as valves that open or close. There is an internal urethral sphincter, which is located at the point where the urethra leaves the bladder. There’s also an external urethral sphincter located in the pelvic floor. These muscles work together with the bladder to get urine out of your body.

How long is the urethra?
If you’re someone who’s been assigned female at birth, your urethra is about 1.5 inches (3 to 4 centimeters) long. If you’re someone who’s been assigned male at birth, your urethra is about 8 to 9 inches long (about 20 centimeters).

  • The prostatic urethra: The part of the urethra that carries seminal fluid through the prostate gland to produce the semen that will be ejaculated.
  • The membranous urethra: The short part of the urethra that transports fluids through the pelvic floor.
  • The penile urethra (also called the spongy urethra or the cavernous urethra): The longest piece of the urethra. This section extends the entire length of the penis and ends at the urethral meatus or the opening outside the body.

Disease:

  • Malignant
    • Urethral cancer

Symptom:

  • Blood in urine, Pain in urethra

Investigation:

  • USG of urethra MRI of the Urethra,
  • Biopsy from Urethra (Turbx)

Treatment:

  • Urethactomy- Distal urethra
  • Cystoprostatomy- proximal