Prostatic Hyperplasia ("Benign Prostate Hypertrophy")

This is the prostate and bladder from an autopsy. The man had "benign prostatic hypertrophy", the common enlargement of the prostate gland seen in most older men.

In the first photo, the prostate is on the bottom, and the bladder, with its front opened, is on top. You can see the enlarged central lobe of the prostate gland protruding into the bladder cavity. The prostate gland obstructed outflow from the bladder, forcing the bladder wall to become thicker and stronger.

The second picture shows a photomicrograph of the prostate. Notice the large number of complex, infolded glands.

The third picture shows a gland at high power. Notice that its epithelium is infolded. Even within the glands, the cells are too numerous.

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