The prostatic utricle (Latin for "small pouch of the prostate") is a small indentation in the prostatic urethra, at the apex of the urethral crest, on the seminal colliculus (verumontanum), laterally flanked by openings of the ejaculatory ducts. It is also known as the vagina masculina,[a]uterus masculinus or (in older literature) vesicula prostatica.[2]
Structure
It is often described as "blind", meaning that it is a duct that does not lead to any other structures.[3] It tends to be about one cm in length.[4] It can sometimes be enlarged.[5][6] The utricle is deemed enlarged if it allows insertion of a cystoscope at least 2 cm deep.[7] This is often associated with hypospadias.[8]
Dissection of prostate showing prostatic utricle opening into the prostatic urethra.
In 1905, Robert William Taylor described the function of the utricle: "In coitus it so contracts that it draws upon the openings of the ejaculatory ducts, and thus renders them so patulous that the semen readily passes through."[11]
^Butler, Paul; Mitchell, Adam W. M.; Ellis, Harold (1999). Applied Radiological Anatomy (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 286. ISBN9780521481106.
^Cunningham, Daniel John (1968). Manual of Practical Anatomy: Thorax and abdomen. Vol. 2 (13th ed.). University of Michigan: Oxford University Press. p. 238.
^Kogan, S.J.; Hafez, E.S. (2012). Pediatric Andrology. Clinics in Andrology. Vol. 7 (illustrated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 188. ISBN9789401037198.
^Al-Salem, Ahmed H. (2016). An Illustrated Guide to Pediatric Urology. Springer. p. 446. ISBN9783319441825.
^Kawashima, A.; Sandler, C. M.; Wasserman, N. F.; LeRoy, A. J.; King, B. F.; Goldman, S. M. (1 October 2004). "Imaging of Urethral Disease: A Pictorial Review". Radiographics. 24 (suppl_1): S195 –S216. doi:10.1148/rg.24si045504. PMID15486241. S2CID28296852.
^Shapiro E, Huang H, McFadden DE, et al. (2004). "The prostatic utricle is not a Müllerian duct remnant: immunohistochemical evidence for a distinct urogenital sinus origin". J. Urol. 172 (4 Pt 2): 1753–1756, discussion 1756. doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000140267.46772.7d. PMID15371806.
^R. W. Taylor. "A practical treatise on sexual disorders of the male and female". New York and Philadelphia, 1897; 3rd edition, 1905. p. 48
