The human prostate gland is of undoubted importance in reproductive physiology and is one of the commonest causes of clinical urological problems in the male patient. Despite the wealth of published lit- erature relating to the prostate gland surprisingly little is understood about its neural innervation, the influence of pharmacological factors and its precise physiological functions. Indeed, benign disorders of the prostate gland including benign prostatic hyperplasia, bladder neck dyssynergia and inflammatory disorders of the prostate (prostatitis, prostatodynia) although well recognised...

Imagine the plight of a young woman, some time during the thousands of years before th the mid-18 century, who, soon after a dif? cult childbirth, ? nds she can no longer keep from leaking urine. She is standing in the chill winter wind, her urine-soaked clothes clinging wet against her thighs as she comforts her crying baby knowing that she faces a life of misery, shame and social ostracism. Or imagine the middle-aged wife of a tenant farmer on the remote central Illinois plain, straining with her husband to lift a heavy log that has fallen on their only milk cow only to feel a deep tearing...

The field of underactive bladder is a poorly recognised yet important clinical condition, affecting up to a third of patients over 65. In this book, the authors look at the field of underactive bladder and its presentation, clinical diagnosis, potential etiopathogenesis and treatment.

While the editors address a great deal of background information, they clearly identify that many limitations still exist to clinical diagnosis and urodynamic evaluation, and in particular a dearth of appropriate treatment options. This complex condition needs to be recognized and identified in the...