The prostate is a gland a little bigger than a golf ball and a little smaller than a tennis ball. Most references compare it in size to a walnut. It is tucked behind the pubic bone and sits under the bladder and in front of the rectum. That is, it sits pretty deep inside the lower abdomen, so it isn\u2019t easy to see or feel. A male hormone called testosterone feeds the cells in the prostate and sustains the organ throughout life.<\/p>\n
Though hidden, the prostate is central to some pretty important activities. First off, the urethra, which carries urine and semen out through the penis, runs right through the prostate. Problems with urination are often the first symptoms of prostate problems<\/a>. For instance, inflammation in the gland can cause urinary discomfort, such as a pressing need to pee or difficulty peeing.<\/p>\n The prostate is also part of the male reproductive system. Its job is to produce fluids that go into semen. Secretions from the prostate make up about a third of semen\u2019s contents. The rest of the mix consists of sperm, which is produced in the testicles, and other ingredients that are produced in the seminal vesicles. These vesicles, small glandular sacs, sit above the prostate.<\/p>\n One of the prostate\u2019s secretions is an enzyme called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). A healthy prostate produces this enzyme normally. It liquefies semen so that sperm has an easier time swimming through it. Some PSA ends up in the bloodstream. Healthy PSA levels vary based on patient factors from age to ethnicity, and remain mostly stable over time, rising only slightly with age. Talk to your doctor about what a “normal” PSA level looks like for you.<\/p>\n But if the prostate begins to grow abnormally, either because of inflammation or because of the growth of prostate cancer, the PSA level in the blood begins to rise.<\/p>\n In addition to sitting so close to the bladder, rectum, and urethra, the prostate is also surrounded by muscles that help propel semen through the urethra during ejaculation. Nerve bundles that control erections also curve around the gland\u2019s surface. If these nerves are damaged, for example, during surgery to remove the prostate, erections may no longer be possible.<\/p>\n While it may be difficult for a man to feel his own prostate, a doctor can check prostate health easily with a digital rectal exam (DRE). That is, the doctor will insert a gloved finger into the rectum and feel the gland. The prostate sits a few inches up and to the front of the body. The exam may feel uncomfortable, both physically and psychologically, but doctors who perform this test do it all the time. They are comfortable with it and do it knowing that its purpose is to help the patient. While this exam is most frequently performed by a urologist, other physicians such as a primary care doctor, oncologist, or gastroenterologist may do a DRE and note an abnormality in your prostate.<\/p>\n Any experienced practitioner will be able to feel abnormalities, such as swelling or lumps, with a fingertip. Unfortunately, sometimes a gland will feel normal and still have prostate cancer in it. Depending on a man\u2019s age, health, and digital rectal exam, the doctor might recommend additional prostate cancer tests<\/a>, such as a blood draw to look at the PSA level, to get more information about the health of the gland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The prostate is a gland a little bigger than a golf ball and a little smaller than a tennis ball. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10977,"featured_media":0,"parent":142,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10977"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1216,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150\/revisions\/1216"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shipley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Continued Below<\/span><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>