What is the Prostate Gland?

The prostate gland is a, roughly golf ball sized, gland located just behind and slightly below the bladder and just in front of the rectum in males. The prostate gland actually surrounds the urethra as well, as in the urethra runs through the center of the prostate. This is why inflamed or enlarged prostates can hinder or even stop the flow of urine.

The function of the prostate gland is for sexual reproduction. The prostate gland is used to store and secrete prostatic fluid. Prostatic fluid makes up ten to thirty percent of the males secreted semen. This fluid has multiple functions; one function is to lubricate the urethra before ejaculation. The second major goal of this fluid is to motivate the sperm; this fluid triggers the sperms reaction to, in essence, swim towards the egg. The final use for this fluid is to neutralize the acids in female vaginal fluids to slow the rate at which the acids kill off the sperm cells. As you can see the prostate gland plays a major role in human reproduction, in most cases a male without a prostate gland is considered to be sterile since the sperm won’t be activated nor have any protection.

With all glands and organs within the human body the prostate gland has it’s own set of problems that can arise. One problem is the enlargement of the prostate gland; this is the most common and happens in all men as they age, generally in there forties. In many cases this enlargement applies pressure to the urethra making it harder for the male to urinate. There are several forms of treatment to alleviate this problem. Another ailment that the prostate gland can suffer is prostate cancer; this is a male only cancer and will affect roughly every one in six males. If caught and treated early many cases of prostate cancer can be cured, nearly ninety percent of the prostate cancer cases can be healed, again depending on how early it is found and treated.