What is Urology?
Urology is a medical and surgical specialty that focuses on diseases of the male and female urinary tract, and on the male reproductive system.
In recognition of the wide scope of urology, it has been divided into several subspecialty areas such as:
- Pediatric Urology: Dealing mainly with urology diseases in neonates and children.
- Urologic Oncology: Dealing with cancers of urinary tract such as:
- Kidney tumors
- Ureteral tumors
- Urinary Bladder tumors
- Prostate tumors
- Testicular tumors
- Other tumors of male genital organs
- Renal Transplantation: Concentrating mainly on transplantation of kidneys.
- Male Infertility: Dealing with males who are unable to achieve pregnancy in a fertile female.
- Calculi (urinary tract stones): Managing and treating stones of kidney, ureter, and urinary bladder.
- Female Urology: Managing urinary incontinence (urine leakage) in females as well as pelvic organ prolapse in females.
- Neurourology: Dealing mainly with voiding disorders, urodynamic evaluation of patients, and erectile dysfunction or impotence.
What is a Urologist?
Urologist is a physician specialized in the field of urology. Urologists are trained to diagnose, treat, manage, and operate patients with urological disorders.
When to Seek a Urologist?
There are a number of symptoms and signs that a person should seek advice, diagnostic or treatment from a urologist. Some common symptoms are the followings. Most of these symptoms can be either in males or females.
- Discomfort or pain while urinating.
- Uncommon frequent urination mainly at night.
- A sense of difficulty in completely emptying the bladder.
- Incontinence, a loss of urinary control (urine leakage).
- Appearance of blood or clots in the urine.
- Sensation of pain related to any of the genitourinary tract organs.
- Flank pain not-related to vertebral column.
- Problems with sexual function in males.
- Infertility in males, difficulties involved in conceiving a child.
- Any trauma or injury to genitourinary organs.
- Any incidental finding of tumor in any of the genitourinary organs.
There are a number of conditions and diseases that do not emerge with any symptoms or signs. Most of these diseases are recognized incidentally by routine investigations, examinations of other organs or by screening tests. These conditions must be seen and managed by urologists. Some common situations are as follow:
- Most genitourinary tract tumors (Kidney, Urinary bladder, Prostate, Testis, etc)
- Some types of stones in the kidney, ureter or bladder
- Congenital malformations of genitourinary organs
Common Urology Diseases & Conditions
- Genitourinary Tract Infections:
- Kidney
- Bladder
- Prostate
- Testis
- Urinary Tract Stones:
- Kidney
- Ureter
- Bladder
- Genitourinary Tract Trauma & Injury:
- Kidney
- Ureter
- Bladder
- Urethra
- Penis
- Testis
- Genitourinary Tract Tumors:
- Adrenal gland
- Kidney
- Ureter
- Bladder
- Prostate
- Testis
- Urethra
- Penis
- Genitourinary Tract Congenital Diseases
- Voiding Dysfunctions
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Male Infertility
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Other Diseases of the Genitourinary Organs