Did you know that the prostate has these functions?

Although the word prostate is often mentioned in daily life, many people do not know its specific location and physiological functions. As a very important organ in the male body, it grows in the private parts of men and plays a key role in men's health. The physiological functions of the prostate mainly include exocrine function, urination control function, transportation function and endocrine function. It is also called the important lifeline of men, so it is particularly important to do regular prostate-related examinations. It can quickly respond to the discomfort and causes of the male body, so that timely and accurate judgments can be made for treatment to restore health as soon as possible.

1. Prostate location

"Where is the prostate located?" When it comes to this question, many people may not know. In a survey of more than 500 men, 80% of them did not know where the prostate is located. Some people thought it was on the genitals, etc.

The prostate is so important yet there is so much "cognitive confusion" about it. Doctors say that the reason is related to the lag in popularizing medical knowledge. In addition, because the prostate is related to "sex" and its location is rather special, people tend to be evasive when talking about it.

The prostate gland is a very rare sex gland in the human body that has dual secretion functions, both internally and externally. It is located in the private part of men, and its size and shape are like an inverted chestnut, with its upper part attached to the bladder, its lower part attached to the urogenital diaphragm, its front adjacent to the male pubic symphysis, and its back adjacent to the rectum. The male urethra passes through the middle of the prostate gland. It can be seen that the prostate gland occupies a strategic position in the male reproductive and urinary system and can influence the "situation" of male health.

2. The physiological functions of the prostate can be summarized into four aspects

1. It has exocrine function. The prostate is the largest accessory gland of men and one of the exocrine glands of the human body. It can secrete prostatic fluid, which is an important component of semen. It plays an important role in the normal function of sperm and is very important for fertility. The secretion of prostatic fluid is regulated by male hormones.

2. It has a transport function. The urethra and two ejaculatory ducts pass through the prostate. When ejaculating, the muscles of the prostate and seminal vesicles contract, which can push the contents of the vas deferens and seminal vesicles into the posterior urethra through the ejaculatory ducts and then expel them from the body. In summary, the prostate has four important functions and plays an important role in the human body.

3. It has the function of controlling urination. The prostate surrounds the urethra and is close to the bladder neck, forming the proximal urethral wall. Its annular smooth muscle fibers surround the prostatic part of the urethra and participate in the formation of the internal urethral sphincter. When the urge to urinate occurs, the detrusor muscle contracts and the internal sphincter relaxes, allowing urination to proceed smoothly.

4. Endocrine function. The prostate contains abundant 5α-reductase, which can convert testosterone into more physiologically active dihydrotestosterone. Dihydrotestosterone plays an important role in the pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia. By blocking 5α-reductase, the production of dihydrotestosterone can be reduced, thereby causing the hyperplastic prostate tissue to atrophy.

The prostate gland is also called the "lifeline" of men, but according to surveys, more than 80% of men have never had any prostate examinations in the past five years, which is what worries doctors the most. Usually, prostate problems are relieved in summer and become more serious in winter. According to Dr. Zhang, a male urologist, a warm environment can relax the muscles of the lesion, dilate blood vessels, and accelerate blood circulation, thereby temporarily "disappearing" the edema and congestion of the prostate gland and unblocking the urethra. However, when the human body is exposed to cold, frequent urination, urgent urination, and painful urination caused by prostate problems will "come back".

According to the introduction, prostate problems mainly include prostatitis and prostate hyperplasia, among which prostate hyperplasia has the highest incidence rate. Men may face the risk of prostate hyperplasia from around 40 years old, with an incidence rate as high as 30-50%. When they are around 60-70 years old, the probability of men suffering from prostate hyperplasia is as high as 75%.

The prostate gland guards the upper part of the urethra. If it grows, it will cause many symptoms, such as frequent urination, urgent urination, severe urination difficulty or even inability to urinate. It will affect the patient's normal life and may even lead to death in severe cases.

For such an important "lifeline", there are so many men who don't know where it is located, and don't know what its function is. Lack of knowledge about diseases is also an important factor leading to the occurrence of diseases. Only by knowing where the disease comes from can we effectively prevent it.