File:Prostate histology 01.jpg

Prostate Histology

low power overview Template:HE Stain

Links: Prostate Development | Genital - Male Development

Prostate Histology Notes

The prostate is the largest accessory sex gland in men (about 2 × 3 × 4 cm). It contains 30 - 50 tubuloalveolar glands, which empty into 15 - 25 independent excretory ducts. These ducts open into the urethra. The glands are embedded into a fibromuscular stroma, which mainly consists of smooth muscle separated by strands of connective tissue rich in collagenous and elastic fibres. The muscle forms a dense mass around the urethra and beneath the fairly thin capsule of the prostrate.

The secretory alveoli of the prostate are very irregularly shaped because of papillary projections of the mucosa into the lumen of the gland. The epithelium is cuboidal or columnar. Basal cells are again present, and the epithelium may look pseudostratified where they are found. The secretory cells are slightly acidophilic and secretory granules may be visible in the cytoplasm. Small extensions of the apical cytoplasm into the lumen of the alveoli may represent cells which release their secretory products (secretion is apocrine/merocine). The secretion of the prostate contains citric acid, the enzyme fibrinolysin (liquefies the semen), acid phosphatase, a number of other enzymes and lipids. The secretion of the prostate is the first fraction of the ejaculate.

The secretory ducts of the prostate are lined by a simple columnar epithelium, which changes to a transitional epithelium near the openings of the ducts into the urethra.

A characteristic feature of the prostate is the appearance of corpora amylacea in the secretory alveoli. They are rounded eosinophilic bodies. Their average diameter is about 0.25 mm (up to 2 mm). They appear already in the seventh month of foetal development. Their number increases with age - in particular past 50. They may undergo calcification. Corpora amylacea may appear in semen.

Macroscopically the prostrate can be divided into lobes, but they are inconspicuous in histological sections. In good histological sections it is possible to distinguish three concentric zones, which surround the prostatic part of the urethra.

The peripheral zone contains large, so-called main glands, whose ducts run posteriorly to open into the urethra. The internal zone consists of the so-called submucosal glands, whereas the innermost zone contains mucosal glands. This subdivision of the prostate is of clinical importance. With age the prostate becomes enlarged due to benign nodular hyperplasia. The onset age of these hyperplastic changes is 45. About 3/4 of the males above 60 are affected of which half will be symptomatic. This condition affects the mucosal glands. Cancer of the prostate, which is the second most common malignant tumor in western males, involves the peripheral zone.

Links: Histology | Histology Stains | Blue Histology images copyright Lutz Slomianka 1998-2009. The literary and artistic works on the original Blue Histology website may be reproduced, adapted, published and distributed for non-commercial purposes. See also the page Histology Stains.

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 16) Embryology Prostate histology 01.jpg. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/File:Prostate_histology_01.jpg

What Links Here?

© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G

(Text from: Blue Histology - Prostate)