Anatomy of the lower urinary tract

For descriptive purposes the urinary tract is divided into two parts: the upper urinary tract and the lower urinary tract. The former comprises the kidneys and ureters, while the lower urinary tract consists of the urinary bladder and the urethra. In this article, a detailed description of the surgical and functional anatomy of the urinary bladder is followed by a description of the clinical anatomy of the female and male urethra. There then follows a brief description of the relevant anatomy of the prostate and seminal vesicles. While not strictly involved in the conduction of urine from the bladder to the exterior, the prostate and seminal vesicles are so intimately related (both topographically and functionally) to the urethra and bladder that no account of the lower urinary tract in the male would be complete without them. It is conventional therefore to regard the prostate and seminal vesicles as part of the lower urinary tract.