Abstract

For some time after I had observed the case I am to report, I was uncertain what to call it. There was a pouch in the floor, of the posterior urethra just anterior to the internal sphincter. This was a diverticulum, to be sure; but it might with equal propriety be called a dilatation of the prostatic glands in this region. I had not seen accounts of such a condition in the literature on diseases of the prostate; and that on diverticulum of the urethra deals much more extensively with the condition in the anterior urethra. There is little on diverticulum of the prostatic portion.The early age at which bladder stone formed in this case led me to think that if these diverticula were congenital they might explain the occurrence of vesical calculus in male children. Although it does occur more frequently in males, I have not been able to find data in support of this view. Again the difficulty of making accurate examinations in children has prevented such findings. Against this theory is the rarity of reported diverticulum with the occurrence of stone in the bladder. It is conceivable that diverticulum of the posterior urethra may be due to dilatation of the prostatic ducts. This view, I think, is tenable from the work of Lowsley on the prostate at birth. One might ask why it does not occur in the anterior or lateral wall, as well as in the posterior. I have no reply to this objection.