Urethritis

urethritis

inflammation of the urethra

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urethritis [‚yu̇r·ə′thrīd·əs]

(medicine)

Inflammation of the urethra.

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Urethritis 

inflammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra. It is most common in men and is almost always caused by infection contracted during sexual intercourse. Both acute and chronic urethritis may be gonorrheal, trichomonal, or simple.

Acute urethritis sets in within three or four days after infection in cases of gonorrhea or within five to 20 days in cases of trichomoniasis or simple urethritis. The disease is manifested by discharges from the urethra, which are copious and cream-colored in gonorrheal urethritis and slight in trichomonal or simple urethritis. The patient experiences sharp pain during urination. Chronic urethritis results from inadequate treatment of acute urethritis. It is marked by a slight discharge from the urethra (the discharge may be absent) and by moderate pain or itching in the urethra.

Urethritis may cause such complications as prostatitis, epididymitis, and stricture of the urethra. Urethroscopy and microscopic examination of discharges are the methods used to diagnose the type of urethritis. Treatment includes the administration of antibiotics and sulfanilamides; in cases of trichomoniasis, metronidazole is administered. Treatment also involves a copious intake of fluids, a bland diet, and the injection of drugs into the urethra.

REFERENCE

Pytel’, A. Ia., and N. A. Lopatkin. Urologiia. Moscow, 1970.

A. L. SHABAD