The prostate is a gland, roughly the size of a walnut, found in males under the bladder. The seminal vesicles, two glands involved in the production of seminal liquids, lay above the prostate. Nerves that control erectile function are located (and attached) to the sides of the prostate.
The organ is primarily composed of glands and stroma. Glands in the prostate are lined by two different cell layers: an outter cubodial layer and an inner epithelium layer. The glands in the prostate are separated by stroma.
Stroma, which are connective tissue cells of an organ, roughly compose half of the volume of the prostate. In order for the prostate to function properly, the prostate depends on hormones, such as dihydrotestosterone, to regulate the gland’s function.
The size of the prostate gland in men varies by age: while the average size has been estimated around 20 grams (for an adult male near 30), the prostate typically enlarges with age up to a maximum size of 150 grams in men older than 50.
The organ is known as an exocrine gland because it secretes fluid through ducts outside of the body. The gland plays an important role in reproductive health and has three main functions:
- The prostate plays a key role in producing an alkaline fluid (“prostate fluidâ€) that roughly composes 25-30% of semen, and is ultimately mixed with sperm and ejaculated outside of the body.
- The prostate produces prostate specific antigen (PSA): PSA is a protein that is released during ejaculation to help sperm reach the egg and is also present in the blood stream. The testing of PSA levels in the blood is often times used as a proxy to diagnose prostate cancer.
- The prostate also plays a key role in regulating the control of urine outflow. During the excretion of liquid waste, the muscular fibers in the prostate contract to slow the outflow of urine.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers found in men in the United States; prostate cancer is second only to non-melanoma skin cancer in the total number of cases diagnosed. Prostate cancer is estimated to account for 28% (roughly 217,730 cases) of all newly diagnosed cancer cases among men in the United States for 2010. The incidence rate of prostate cancer increases concomitantly with age; significant incidence rates start at roughly 45 years of age and continue on until death. From 2003 to 2007, the median age at diagnosis for cancer of the prostate was roughly 67 years of age. Although the burden of prostate cancer remains high relative to other cancers in the population, there has been a steady reduction in the incidence rate on a historical basis (roughly 2.4% annually from 2000-2006) as a result of maturation in preliminary screening and testing of the at-risk male population.
The prognosis for treatment and survival is highly optimistic: Based on prostate cancer cases diagnosed from 1999-2005, 92% of newly diagnosed cases were likely to be found in the local or regional stages (that is, not spreading beyond the prostate area) with a 5-year survival rate near 100%. Overall, due to aggressive treatment and new technologies (such as robotic surgeries), the death rate associated with prostate cancer has gradually declined: While the death rate was 38.56 men out of 100,000 men in 1970, the rate dropped to 23.56 men out of 100,000 individuals men in 1990.
Author Resource:
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