urology

The urology represents a branch of medicine. It mainly deals with the urine-forming and urinary organs (kidneys, bladder and Co.). The roots of urology go back to antiquity, although urology itself is still a young, independent field of medicine.

What is urology

Under the urology In modern orthodox medicine, one understands the sub-area that deals predominantly and in detail with the urinary and urinary organs - that is, with the kidneys, the urinary bladder, the ureter and the urethra.

In addition to the range of treatments offered by urology, there are also diseases and complaints that affect the man's sexual organs, i.e. the testicles, epididymis, spermatic ducts, seminal vesicles, penis and prostate. This covers the subject and sub-area of ​​andrology.

Another sub-area and a separate subject area of ​​urology is nephrology, which deals specifically with the kidneys. In addition, there is often overlap between urology and gynecology, neurology, oncology and surgery.

Treatments & therapies

The urology has the medical task of preventing or treating diseases and complaints of the urinary and urinary organs.

The same applies to the male internal and external sexual organs. Therefore, regular preventive examinations are just as much a part of the treatment spectrum of comprehensive urology as diagnosis and therapy in the case of illnesses and complaints.

Common diseases that are subject to the specialty of urology are, for example, bladder stones, bladder tumors, urinary stones, urinary tract infections, bladder weaknesses and incontinence. The sub-area of ​​nephrology, on the other hand, is responsible for diseases of the kidneys, for example for lower knees, kidney stones, kidney malfunctions and kidney injuries.

Urology, albeit mostly part of andrology, includes diseases such as permanent erections of the male limb, erectile dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, impotence, malformations of the limb or testicles, benign prostate enlargement, water rupture (water retention in the testicles), foreskin constrictions and any injuries to the internal or external male genital organs.

Examples of this are a penile fracture, which often affects not only the erectile tissue, but also the urethra. Surgery may be necessary here, as is the case with foreskin constrictions. However, many urologists carry out routine procedures themselves, provided they have the authorization (additional surgery) to do so.

Cancers such as testicular cancer and prostate cancer, on the other hand, are mostly diagnosed by a urologist, but treated by an oncologist (by referral to the oncology department). The early detection of serious diseases such as cancerous ulcers and more is also a central task of urology.

If the cause of the complaints or the illness is evident, various therapeutic approaches can be followed. Inflammations of the urinary tract, the bladder and the like are usually treated with medication. Likewise, physically caused erectile dysfunction, such as poor blood flow to the erectile tissue of the penis, can be treated with so-called sexual enhancers (agents that promote blood flow to the genitals).

Tumors or malformations that affect the function of the organs or the body or that have a negative impact on the patient's life through pain and emotional stress, however, can often be treated surgically. A typical example of this is the removal or trimming of the foreskin of the penis when it is constricted.

Depending on the diagnosis, it may be necessary for the urology department to consult another medical specialty or to refer the patient entirely to this.

Diagnosis & examination methods

In most cases, the diagnosis of existing complaints and diseases takes place using different examination methods. One of them is the close inspection and examination of the organs of the urinary tract that are visible from the outside.

However, since this is only possible to a limited extent for both female and male patients, the urologist often uses diagnostic procedures such as ultrasound examinations, bladder and kidney examinations, urine examinations, computer and magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, in rarer cases, X-ray examinations.

The latter is disregarded in urology, as well as in gynecology, but as far as possible, so as not to stress the sexual organs of men and women too much.