The doctor should know the size of the patient’s prostate gland in order to assess the health status of the man’s body. This body is exclusively male, and human health depends on its condition and size. If the size of the gland is normal, then its functioning does not cause any problems. However, various adverse factors can affect this organ, as a result of which doctors often diagnose the development of pathological processes. Let's try to figure out what the prostate gland is. Treatment, sizes (normal) of this organ are presented in the article.
Prostate Characterization
There is iron immediately under the bladder. This is a hormone-dependent organ, and during life it undergoes significant changes. In newborn boys, it weighs several grams, and during puberty, it grows and grows sharply, by the age of 20-25 it reaches its normal size.
After a while, already in adulthood, the second stage of change occurs, when the iron also increases in size. Such a small growth is considered a variant of the norm, but pathological growth indicates the occurrence of a disease such as benign glandular hyperplasia, which is also called prostate adenoma.
Strong growth of tissues leads to the fact that the lumen of the urethra begins to narrow, and representatives of the stronger sex experience problems with the passage of urine. Therefore, it is necessary to know the normal size of the prostate in men.
How large should the prostate be?
Depending on the individual characteristics of the male body, the size of the organ varies in a certain range. The dimensions of the prostate gland in normal ultrasound should be as follows:
- length (distance between the edges of the upper and lower lobes) - 2.6-4.5 cm;
- width - 2.3-4 cm;
- thickness (distance between the back and front surface of both lobes) - 1.6-2.2 cm.
An individual norm depends on such factors as physique, age, genetic characteristics, weight. The normal individual size of the gland is determined when the man has reached the age of 20 years and in the absence of urological diseases.
Prostate Volume and Weight
Knowing the size of the prostate is normal, doctors easily calculate the volume and weight of the gland. To determine the volume, all three linear sizes are multiplied and the resulting number is multiplied by a special coefficient taking into account the shape of the gland. As a result, the result should not be more than 26 cm 3 , and the maximum permissible value is 30 cm 3 .
In addition, doctors use a special formula to determine the dependence of the normal volume of the prostate on the age of the man:
Volume = 0.13V + 16.4 cm 3 , where B is the age.
To find out the weight of the gland, multiply the volume by a special value of 1.05.
Prostate structure
It is very important, determining the size of the prostate gland in norm by ultrasound, to evaluate its structure as well. The prostate consists of 30-50 lobules with excretory ducts. Normally, its structure is symmetrical, and during palpation, the doctor palpates two symmetrical halves that are separated by a furrow. The structure of a healthy gland by ultrasound is homogeneous, without any inclusions, calcifications, tumors and cysts.
If a pathological inclusion was detected, the doctor prescribes a more thorough examination - a biopsy to examine the cellular structure. This will eliminate the risk of degeneration into a malignant tumor.
How to determine the size of the prostate?
Determining the size of the gland is the first step in assessing its condition and diagnosing diseases. It is carried out in the following ways:
- Palpation. In this way, various deviations from the norm are determined, and elasticity and consistency are evaluated.
- Ultrasound Such a study very accurately determines the size of the gland.
- MRI The most effective method that determines with high accuracy the size and structure of the prostate.
Ultrasound
This method is available to most patients. The size and volume of the prostate gland by ultrasound are determined with high accuracy. During its implementation, various research methods are used:
- outside, through the abdominal wall;
- rectal transrectal method;
- external method through the perineum;
- transurethral method, carried out using a sensor inserted into the urethra.
As already mentioned, the size of the prostate gland (normal) by ultrasound is determined very accurately. Such an examination conducted through the abdominal wall is the most affordable way. Before the procedure, the patient must fill the bladder with physiological saline, thereby creating an acoustic window for observing the gland.
Scanning is carried out in the transverse and longitudinal direction, while simultaneously inspecting the bladder and seminal vesicles. It turns out a longitudinal section of the prostate, which determine the length, and a transverse section that determines the thickness and width. The borders of the prostate gland must be even and clear.
External scanning is characterized by insufficient sensitivity, therefore, to identify pathology, a sufficiently traumatic study is carried out using TRUS. It lies in the fact that a special sensor is introduced into the gland through the rectum. The advantage of this method is that you do not need to fill the bladder.
Using TRUS, iron is examined in lobes, and it also helps to investigate periprostatic tissue and paraprostatic venous plexus. As soon as the size of the prostate gland (normal) is determined by ultrasound, the doctor easily calculates the volume of the organ according to the following formula: V = 0.52 x A x C x L, where A is the width, C is the thickness, L is the length.
What pathologies of the prostate are detected by ultrasound?
An ultrasound scan often reveals a diffuse change in the gland, which usually indicates the development of the following diseases:
- prostatitis;
- adenoma;
- tumor of the prostate gland;
- cyst;
- calcifications in the prostate gland.
Conducted diagnostic measures allow you to most accurately establish the proposed diagnosis.
Prostate treatment
The doctor prescribes therapeutic measures depending on the state of the gland and its functional features.
A prostate tumor, especially a malignant one, is treated using a prostatectomy procedure, which is the removal of an organ through an incision made along the anterior wall of the peritoneum.
It is not possible to get rid of calcifications in the prostate gland with the help of medicines, it is also ineffective to crush them, so they are removed by transurethral resection.
To avoid possible surgical intervention, preventive measures should be taken:
- eat well;
- maintain physical activity.
Conclusion
Thus, we found out what the prostate gland is. The sizes (norm) in adults (ultrasound is a fairly effective method for determining the size of the prostate) are also known to you. With the help of ultrasound, the doctor receives all the necessary information about the state of this organ.