STD: EPIDIDYMITIS AND PROSTATITIS: WHAT ARE THEY?
incidence: common
cause: bacteria (some sexually transmitted and some not)
symptoms: scrotal pain and swelling for epididymitis; frequent urination, burning with urination, pain between the scrotum and anus for prostatitis
WHAT ARE THEY?
Epididymitis and prostatitis are infections that occur in men and can be caused by sexually transmitted bacteria such as those that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia, as well as by bacteria that are not sexually transmitted. Epididymitis and prostatitis can both be complications of urethritis (see the entry for nongonococcal urethritis).
Epididymitis is an infection of the epididymis, the structure that sits above each testicle in the scrotum and.whose function is crucial to the maturation of sperm. Infection of the epididymis usually occurs on only one side of the scrotum. Prostatitis is an infection of the prostate, a walnut-sized organ that sits at the base of the penis and produces fluid that is combined with sperm to make semen.
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