Symptoms of the genitourinary tract

• Urologic symptoms are generally
  • Pain, discomfort
  • Alterations of urination
  • Changes in the gross appearance of the urine
  • Abnormal appearance or function of external genitalia
• Primary urologic diseases can manifest as GI problems
• Systemic manifestations
  • Fever
    • Acute pyelonephritis, prostatitis, RCC
    • Chronic pyelonephritis does not cause fever
  • Weight loss
    • Advanced stages of cancer
• Pain
  • Can be felt locally at the area of the diseased organ or elsewhere, as referred pain
• Renal pain
  • Either dull and aching or sharp and colicky (renal colic)
  • Dull and aching renal pain
    • Usually felt at the costovertebral angle
    • Pyelonephritis
  • Renal colic
    • Severe, unilateral colicky flank pain
    • Paroxysmal
    • The patient has a severe urge to move around
    • Can radiate to groin, perineum, abdomen, etc.
    • Painful on percussion
    • Nausea, vomiting common
    • Due to ureter or kidney stone
• Ureteral pain
  • Typically caused by acute obstruction and distension of the ureter
  • Ureter pain is felt at the area of the kidney, but may radiate to the groin
• Bladder pain
  • Acute distension -> overdistension -> discomfort in suprapubic area
  • Cystitis -> sharp, burning pain in urethra or penis
    • Pain at the end of urination is typical symptom of cystitis
• Prostate pain
  • Discomfort in perineal or rectal area -> prostatitis
• Testicular/scrotal pain
  • Usually due to disease of testis or epididymis, but kidney or ureter stone can cause testicular pain
  • Sudden, severe pain
    • Trauma
    • Epididymitis
    • Testicular torsion
    • Kidney or ureter stone
  • Less severe pain, insidious onset
    • Hydrocele
    • Tumour
• Urethral discharge -> STD
  • Gonorrhoea or Chlamydia