What Are the Characteristics of the Female Urinary System?

Diseases can occur in all organs of the urinary system (kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra) and affect the entire system. Diseases of the urinary system can be caused by lesions in other systems of the body, and can affect other systems and even the whole body. It is mainly manifested in the urinary system itself, such as changes in urination, changes in urine, lumps, pain, etc., but also in other aspects, such as hypertension, edema, and anemia. The nature of urinary system diseases, most of which are similar to other system diseases, include congenital malformations, infections, immune mechanisms, genetics, injuries, tumors, etc .; but also have their unique diseases, such as glomerulonephritis, urolithiasis, renal function Exhaustion etc.

Basic Information

English name

urinary system disease

Visiting department

Urology

Common locations

Kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra

Common causes

Pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, tubercle bacilli, virus, mycoplasma, chlamydia trachomatis, trichomoniasis; incomplete treatment; blind treatment, etc.

Common symptoms

1. Abnormal urination: frequent urination, urgency, dysuria, or urinary incontinence, urinary retention. 2. Back pain. 3. Urine abnormalities: bacterial urine, pyuria, hematuria / proteinuria, etc.

Causes of Urinary System Diseases

Complicated cause

The human urinary system includes the kidney, ureter, bladder and urethra, and related vascular and nerve components. The main division produces and expels urine. As bacteria such as E. coli invade the urinary tract, various urinary tract infections are caused, including urethritis, cystitis, and pyelonephritis. Among them, urethritis and cystitis are called lower urinary tract infections, and pyelonephritis is called upper urinary tract infection. Male reproductive tract infections refer to diseases caused by bacterial, viral or parasitic infections of the male reproductive system (urethra, prostate, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, testes, etc.). Male reproductive infectious diseases are mostly caused by the invasion of external bacteria, often causing orchitis, epididymitis, prostatitis, seminal vesiculitis, and urethritis. The pathogens causing genital tract infections are gonococcus, tubercle bacilli, virus, mycoplasma, chlamydia trachomatis, trichomoniasis and other non-specific pathogenic bacteria. Among them, genital tract infections caused by mycoplasma and chlamydia are the most common.

2. Incomplete treatment in the early stages of onset

After the urinary tract infection occurs, the treatment is incomplete, the bacteria are not completely killed, and the drug is discontinued. The remaining bacteria are still latent there. Once they are tired or the body's resistance is reduced, the remaining latent bacteria breed and reproduce again. Another cause of recurrent systemic infections. Urinary tract infection patients also have congenital malformations, obstructions, stones, etc., which is also an important cause of recurrent urinary tract infections.

3. Blind treatment

Due to the great harm of urinary infections, people generally have some panic feelings, while others give too much consideration to privacy protection, so that there are always various cognitive and behavioral deviations in treatment: traditional ideas are fooled, and they cannot be treated in formal hospitals. Difficulties in treatment.

Clinical manifestations of urinary system diseases

Mainly manifested as changes in urination, changes in urine, masses, pain, etc., but also in other aspects, such as hypertension, edema, anemia, etc. When the following three signs appear, urinary system diseases should be considered.

Abnormal urine

Urine abnormal changes, common bacterial urine, pyuria, hematuria / proteinuria and so on.

2. Abnormal urination

Frequent urination abnormalities are frequent urination, urgency, and dysuria. Urinary incontinence and urinary retention can also be seen. Chronic renal failure due to chronic pyelonephritis may have polyuria in the early stages, and may have oliguria or anuria in the later stages.

3. Back pain

Low back pain is a common clinical symptom, and kidney and perirenal diseases are one of the common causes of low back pain. Renal and perirenal inflammation, such as renal abscess, perirenal inflammation, perirenal abscess, and acute pyelonephritis, often cause persistent severe pain in the waist, and chronic back pain caused by chronic pyelonephritis is often sore.

Common diseases of urinary system

Urinary system infection

This refers to urethral and bladder infections. The passage of urine from the bladder to the outside is called the urethra. The urethra and the bladder are closely connected. Urinary tract infections often cause bladder inflammation. Generally speaking, urinary tract infections are mostly related to poor health. About half of women have had urinary system infections at least once, and some women have multiple infections. Many women have 1-2 times a year, which is very common. The main pathogen of urinary system infection is E. coli, which is widely present in the intestines of humans and many animals. Some women are more vulnerable. There are also female urinary system infections that are the result of bruising during sexual intercourse; males can also get the disease, but it is rare, and male urinary system infections are usually caused by sexually transmitted diseases. Nonspecific urethritis and gonorrhoea are the two most common STDs that cause urethral and bladder inflammation.

2. Prostate Disease

Prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, and prostate cancer are common diseases of the male prostate. Prostatic hyperplasia is one of the common diseases in elderly men. With age, men have more or less prostatic hyperplasia. Studies have shown that benign prostatic hyperplasia begins after the age of 40, but it is more common in the elderly over the age of 60. The main symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia are difficulty in urination, mild cases of getting up at night to increase the frequency of urination, urinary dysfunction or a small amount of discharge after the end of urine; severe cases of urinary flow thinning, or even inability to excrete; often accompanied Has backache, backache, limb weakness, nocturnal emission and other symptoms. In the early stage of benign prostatic hyperplasia, conservative treatment with drugs is often used. In severe cases, if the drug cannot effectively control symptoms or serious complications occur, surgical treatment can be selected.

Prostatitis is divided into acute and chronic. Acute prostatitis is characterized by chills, fever, bladder irritation, difficulty urinating, and pain in the perineum and pubic bone, but it is rare in clinical practice. Chronic prostatitis is characterized by abnormal urination and pain in the vicinity of the prostate. Sexual dysfunction, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and memory loss can occur over time. Patients with chronic prostatitis account for 30% to 50% of male outpatient clinics, of which patients between 20 and 40 years old account for 50% to 80%.

There are significant geographic and ethnic differences in the incidence of prostate cancer. The incidence of prostate cancer in Asia is much lower than in Europe and the United States, but it has been increasing in recent years. Prostate cancer patients are mainly elderly men and are age-related. Heredity is currently recognized as one of the most important risk factors for prostate cancer. Prostate cancer can be without any discomfort in the early stage; lower urinary tract symptoms, including obstruction and irritation, can gradually appear as the disease progresses, and urinary retention, urinary incontinence, hematuria, etc. can occur in severe cases; bone pain, pathology can occur after bone metastases in the later stage Fractures, anemia, spinal cord compression, etc.

3. Urinary system tumors

A tumor that occurs anywhere in the urinary system. Including tumors of the kidney, pelvis, ureter, bladder, and urethra. The organs below the renal pelvis are ducts, and the cavity is covered with urinary epithelium (also known as transitional epithelium). The internal environment that they are in contact with is urine. Carcinogens often cause tumors in the urinary epithelium through the urine, so the renal pelvis and ureter Tumors of the urinary bladder, urinary tract, and urinary tract all have similarities, and may be multi-organ onset. Bladder cancer is also the most common because urine stays in the bladder for the longest time.

Tumors of the urinary system usually develop after the age of 40, and men are about twice as many as women. Wilms tumor and rhabdomyosarcoma of the bladder are diseases of infants and young children with no difference in incidence between men and women. In urinary system tumors, the incidence of renal pelvic cancer in China is higher than in European and American countries.

4. Urinary system stones

Stones that occur in the urinary system. Also known as urolithiasis. Includes stones in the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. There are obvious regional differences in the incidence of urolithiasis. There are many areas with high incidence of urolithiasis in the world. The incidence rate in southern China is much higher than in the north. The occurrence and development of urolithiasis is closely related to nutritional status. Food in poor and backward countries is dominated by plant protein, lack of phosphate in urine, prone to bladder stones, especially in children, and calcium-containing kidney stones in adults in developed countries. There are many theories of urinary stone formation, such as nucleation theory, matrix theory, and crystallization inhibitor theory. There is no theory that can explain the formation mechanism of all urinary stones. Obstruction of the urinary system, foreign bodies and infections can promote the formation of urinary stones. Conversely, urinary stones can be the cause of obstructions and infections. Metabolic disorders such as hyperparathyroidism, hyperuricemia, oxalic acid, and cystine can also be the cause of urolithiasis.

5. Acute nephritis syndrome

Mostly streptococcal infections. Clinical features: hematuria, proteinuria, edema, hypertension, azotemia.

6. Radical Nephritis Syndrome

Clinical features: more acute onset, hematuria, proteinuria, edema, hypertension, azotemia.

7. Glomerulopathy

Glomerular disease refers to a group of patients with similar clinical manifestations (such as hematuria, proteinuria, hypertension, etc.), but the etiology, pathogenesis, pathological changes, course and prognosis are different. disease. Can be divided into primary, secondary and hereditary. The primary cause of primary glomerulopathy is unknown. Secondary glomerulopathy refers to glomerular damage in systemic diseases. Hereditary glomerulopathy is glomerulopathy caused by genetic mutations.

Primary glomerulopathy is divided into five clinical types:

(1) Acute glomerulonephritis;

(2) Radical glomerulonephritis;

(3) chronic glomerulonephritis;

(4) Occult glomerulonephritis [asymptomatic hematuria or (and) proteinuria];

(5) Nephrotic syndrome.

Treatment of Urinary System Diseases

Emphasis on prevention

Preventing streptococcal infections and avoiding or reducing upper respiratory tract and skin infections can significantly reduce the incidence of glomerulonephritis. Timely treatment of various causes of urinary tract obstruction can help reduce bacterial infections and reduce urinary tract stones secondary to obstruction. The epithelium covering the kidney calyx, renal pelvis, bladder, and posterior urethra are all transitional epithelial cells. Among the tumors of the urinary system, transitional epithelial cell cancers are the dominant position. Non-smoking can reduce the incidence of this cancer. For urinary stones, the causes that can be solved, such as hyperparathyroidism, and foods containing urinary stones (such as emphasis on avoiding viscera with high levels of nuclear protein in patients with urinary stones), must be prevented. Increasing the amount of drink to dilute the salt concentration in the urine can prevent the stones of various ingredients.

2. Endoscopic diagnosis and treatment

Endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of urological diseases plays an important role in urology. Prostate resection (a specialized bladder urethroscopy) can replace most of the patients with obstructive prostate gland by endoscopic resection, which can reduce the pain of patients. Combined with ultrasound or hydroelectric effects, the treatment of comminuted and excluded stones can be performed through the endoscope. Therefore, the development of urology and urology has reduced the need for surgical treatment of stones. Similarly, some bladder cancers can be replaced with transurethral resection.

3. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a new technology and new machine used in clinical research in West Germany in the 1970s. Through the action of water, the energy generated by electric sparks or piezoelectric ceramic magnetism is introduced into the body, crushing the urinary tract stones and letting them excrete themselves. This technology of bringing energy from the outside into the body to achieve a therapeutic effect is a major medical innovation. This technology has expanded from crushing urinary tract stones to crushing gallstones, and is studying whether it can be applied to other lesions. The advent of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy has completely changed the original indications for surgical treatment of stones. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy does not require open surgery and does not require anesthesia. Treatment can be performed in an outpatient setting. Although extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a breakthrough in treatment technology, there are still indications and complications, and it is easy to relapse. The current research focuses on how to properly combine with urological methods and surgical treatment to reduce complications and recurrence.

4. Kidney replacement therapy

Kidney transplantation and dialysis therapy are two effective measures for the treatment of advanced renal failure, called kidney replacement therapy. At the same time, dialysis therapy is also an important treatment to reduce mortality in some patients with acute renal failure. In organ transplantation, kidney transplantation ranks first in terms of practical value, technical maturity and transplantation effects. Artificial kidney is also called blood purification therapy, including hemodialysis, hemofiltration, hemoperfusion, etc., of which hemodialysis is the main. At present, about 500,000 people worldwide rely on hemodialysis to support their lives, and some patients can maintain light or mental labor. In recent years, the artificial kidney in China has also developed a lot. Peritoneal dialysis is simple, easy, and does not require special equipment. It has a good effect on acute renal failure. For chronic renal failure, ambulatory continuous peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has been adopted as a maintenance treatment. Because of the long course of chronic renal failure, which has the characteristics of gradual deterioration, it is of great significance to take non-dialysis therapy to prevent or delay the progressive deterioration of renal function before kidney function is completely lost and no dialysis treatment is needed. In recent years, research in this area has begun to pay attention to, and various treatments have been carried out, including nutrition, metabolism, and application of erythropoietin to treat anemia.

5. New technology development

In recent years, due to the development of immunology, molecular biology, and cell biology, some new technologies have played an important role in the prevention and treatment of kidney disease. Such as genetic research, a genetic kidney disease of Albert's sign, the gene of the glomerular basement membrane defect has been cloned, thus helping the early diagnosis of the embryonic period. Polycystic kidney disease has a similar situation. Since many kidney diseases have been thought to be related to genetic genes, prevention and treatment from this aspect will gradually become a reality.

The immune mechanism of kidney disease, after decades of discussion, medicine has accumulated a large amount of knowledge, and the corresponding development of immunosuppressive therapy has caused a variety of kidney diseases to be cured or alleviated, and kidney transplantation has become a reality. However, the current immunosuppressants are non-specific, that is, while suppressing "harmful" cells, they also inhibit other normal cells, forming many adverse consequences, which is an urgent problem to be solved.