MAN OH' MAN!
1. The prostate gland is a muscular, walnut-sized organ located right in front of the rectum and just below the bladder.
2. Prostate glands are found only in males.
3. The prostate is a gland that is part of male mammalian sex organs.
4. The prostate glands main function is to secrete and store a clear, slightly acid fluid that is part of semen, which is the solution that carries sperm.
5. The prostate gland surrounds the urethra just below the urinary bladder.
6. The normal prostate gland is approximately 1˝ inches long and weighs about an ounce.
7. The male urethra has two functions: to carry urine from the bladder during urination and to carry semen during ejaculation.
8. It completely surrounds the urethra, which is the tube that takes urine and sexual fluids through the penis and out of the body.
9. The prostate gland is divided into right and left sides, or lobes.
10. As the prostate enlarges from normal growth or from cancer, it tightens around the urethra and can restrict the flow of urine.
11. The prostate gland contains five areas, or zones. The peripheral zone is the largest segment, containing about 75 percent of the glands in the prostate. Most prostate cancer occurs in the peripheral zone and is the site where most needle biopsies are taken.
12. The peripheral zone is also the most common site of chronic prostatitis.
13. The transition zone, the site of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), surrounds the urethra.
14. The anterior zone is mostly smooth muscle and occupies about one-third of the prostate.
15. The central zone holds most of the remaining glands.
16. The muscular preprostatic tissue prevents semen from flowing back into the bladder.
17. Semen is produced by both the prostate gland and the seminal vesicles, a pair of glands attached to the prostate.
18. The prostate gland is a collection of many smaller glands surrounded by a layer of fibrous tissue called the prostatic capsule. A layer of fat surrounds the capsule.
19. Sperm is produced in the testicles and carried through a tube called the vas deferens to the prostate, where sperm mixes with semen.
20. During orgasm, the semen is ejaculated first by a connection to the urethra called the ejaculatory ducts and then through the urethra out of the body.
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