Pertaining to or emanating from urethra.
- u. agenesis, u. atresia — failure of development of all or part of the urethra: characterized by complete urine retention. A rare cause of neonatal uremia.
- u. calculus — causes a syndrome of acute urethral obstruction (below).
- u. diverticulum — see urachal diverticulum.
- u. fistula — due to trauma; occurs in bulls in which the urethra lies superficially near its end. A fistula may affect the discharge of semen from the normal meatus sufficiently to cause infertility.
- u. groove — a median groove along the ventral surface of the genital tubercle providing an eventual location for the penile urethra in the male.
- u. hydropulsion — see hydropropulsion.
- u. hypoplasia — a cause of urinary incontinence in female dogs and rarely cats.
- u. muscle — striated muscle in the wall of the male pelvic urethra.
- u. obstruction — causes acute abdominal pain with grunting and straining to urinate, tail switching, distention of the bladder, dripping of blood-stained urine, protrusion of the penis. Eventually the bladder ruptures or the urethra perforates. Caused usually by calculus. See also urolithiasis.
- u. perforation — occurs usually at the site of urethral obstruction by a calculus. Causes urinary infiltration of the ventral abdominal wall and terminal uremia. Called also waterbelly. Rarely the accumulation occurs retroperitoneally and is palpable rectally. See also hypospadias.
Subcutaneous swelling containing urine due to urolithiasis and urethral perforation. By permission from Blowey RW, Weaver AD, Diseases and Disorders of Cattle, Mosby, 1997 - u. plate — a solid cord of endodermal cells which arise from the floor of the urogenital sinus, contributing to the formation of the urethral groove.
- u. plug — occurs in male cats causing urethral obstruction; associated with feline urological syndrome. The plug is composed of proteinaceous material with cellular debris and struvite crystals.
- u. pressure profile — a study of the intraurethral pressure as a means of identifying the cause of urinary incontinence in dogs and cats.
- u. pressure profilometry — a measure of intraurethral pressures; used in the investigation of urinary incompetence in dogs and cats. Usually carried out with a pressure-measuring device in the tip of a catheter placed in the urethra and bladder.
- u. process — the extension of the urethra beyond the end of the glans penis. In the horse it is mostly concealed in the urethral fossa. In small ruminants it is in the form of a 1 to 2 inch long filiform appendage and is easily injured during shearing, interfering with the animal's subsequent fertility.
- u. prolapse — protrusion of urethral mucosa at the end of the penis.
- u. prosthesis — a synthetic conduit used in the treatment of urethral stricture or obstruction in cats, particularly following an unsuccessful urethrostomy.
- proximal u. ulceration — causes hematuria at the end of urination in horses.
- u. rupture — see urethral perforation (above).
- u. sling — see colposuspension.
- u. sphincter mechanism incompetence — a cause of urinary incontinence in female dogs and occasionally cats.
- u. stricture — caused by trauma, particularly injury associated with urethral calculi or urethral surgery. Clinically similar to obstruction except that the condition is subacute or chronic and characterized by a persistently distended bladder, dribbling of urine and the passage of a thin stream, usually accompanied by straining.
