MALE
GENITALIA DISEASE
There
are many different types of diseases that can affect the
genitals. They can be classified by whether they are
acquired (one caught it or developed the problem after birth)
or congenital (one was born with it). The acquired
diseases can be further classified by whether they are due
to problems with inflammation (infection), cancer, blood
flow, or some combination of problems leading to dysfunction.
ACQUIRED
ABNORMALITIES
Perhaps the most common disease affecting men is sexual
dysfunction. This is the failure to
achieve adequate erection, ejaculation, or both. Men
with sexual dysfunction may complain of loss of sexual desire
(libido), difficulty or inability to initiate or maintain
an erection (impotence), failure of ejaculation, premature
ejaculation, or an inability to achieve an orgasm.
Other
than sexual dysfunction, some of the most common acquired
diseases are infections caught from a partner during sexual
contact. Diseases such as chlamydia, herpes, genital
warts, and HIV/AIDS are just some of the more common sexually
transmitted diseases. (The photo shows the milky
penile discharge of man with gonorrhea.) A detailed
look at the major sexually transmitted diseases is beyond
the scope of this guide, but is currently available in our
Sexually Transmitted
Disease (STD) Online Guide. The guide shows photographs
and gives detailed information on detecting, curing, and
preventing common sexually transmitted diseases.
With the exception of sexual abstinence, the regular and
correct use of condoms
is the best way to avoid the sexually transmitted diseases.
A
non-sexually transmitted disease causing inflammation and
rarely sterility is mumps. Though the mumps virus
commonly causes only swelling of the salivary gland (parotitis),
about 10% of men will get swelling of the testicle (mumps
orchitis). Luckily, one of the childhood vaccinations
protects us from mumps (the MMR immunization, or Measles,
Mumps, and Rubella).
Skin
abnormalities also affect the genitalia. Eczema and
psoriasis can cause redness, scaling, and itchiness.
Fungal infections, like jock-itch (tinea cruris)
also affect the skin of the scrotum as pictured here.
Treatment of this rash is with an antifungal medication.
Other fungal infections, like candida balantitis
is also treated with medication.
Peyronie's
disease is the formation of scar-like tissue on the
penis. This can lead to abnormal curvature and painful
erections. Peyronie's disease is usually felt as a
fibrous plaque on the underside of the penis. Surgical
treatment by a urologist is often required in advanced cases.
The
abnormal growth of cells (cancer) can afflict essentially
any part of the male anatomy. Testicular cancer
generally affects young to middle-aged adults and is the
leading cause of death from solid cancers in men between
the ages of 15 and 32. There are many different types
of testicular cancer depending on which type of cell begins
to grow abnormally. (The photo is of a patient with
lymphoma that has spread to the testicle.) Testicular
cancers have a good cure rate when caught early, so discovering
the tumor is important. A testicular self-exam done
monthly by all men aged 15 and older can detect these usually
symptomless tumors. Click here to learn how to do
a testicular self-examination.
Cancer
of the penis accounts for about 1% of all cancers in
males. These cancers are usually slow growing, but
can spread to surrounding lymph nodes and tissues making
a cure more difficult. The photo shows a man with
a cancer that has eaten away a significant amount of the
tip of his penis. Obviously, any new or non-healing
growth on the penis (or elsewhere), should be shown to your
doctor. Check out our Skin
Cancer Guide for more information and photographs.
Prostate
cancer is the second most common cause of male cancer
deaths (after lung cancer), and is most often found in men
older than 50. The cancer seldomly produces symptoms
until it spreads, so prostate screening (rectal exam and
possibly a blood test) is important for early diagnosis
and treatment.
CONGENITAL
ABNORMALITIES
Congenital problems with the male genitalia are caused during
fetal development. The most common abnormality
is failure of the urethral
tube to form correctly resulting in an additional hole
in the penis. 
This
additional hole is usually located on the underside (hypospadias
- pictured) or top side (epispadias) of the penis
and is usually not a significant problem. The result
of having a hypospadias or epispadias is that urine and
semen exit the penis from more than one site. Another
fairly common abnormality is a phimosis. This
is defined as an abnormally small opening of the foreskin.
It can be congenital or acquired (from infection).
Having a phimosis is a problem because it can lead to further
infection and even some types of cancer due to the chronic
accumulation of secretions and other debris under the foreskin
(smegma).
A surgical incision or circumcision is the treatment of
choice for phimosis. Congenital anomalies of the testicle
also occur occasionally. An undescended testicle
(cryptorchidism) is the most common birth defect affecting
up to 0.8% of newborn males (1 out of every 125) .
If the testicle has not descended into the scrotum by 1
year of age, it needs to be surgically lowered (or removed),
as a large number of undescended testicles will become cancerous.
