Regional Morphology and Pathology of The Prostate

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Abstract
Evidence is presented that the true prostate consists of 2 separate and distinct zones, which probably differ functionally and are clearly different histologically. The central and peripheral zones here delineated do not correspond to the "lobes" of the prostate identified in previous studies, but they are probably homologous with the lobes of the monkey prostate, which are known to differ functionally. The course of atrophy in aging is traced in detail, and is found to pursue a parallel but partially independent course in the 2 zones. In older men a wide variation in degree of atrophy is noted, and atrophy often occurs much later than was described in earlier studies. Chronic debilitating disease often produces, in younger men, a degree of atrophy comparable to that seen in normal men 30 or more years older. Prostatitis usually results in focal areas of atrophy, in contrast to the diffuse process characteristic of normal aging. Focal areas of atrophy are usually associated with prostatitis, and both show a prominent predilection for the peripheral zone over the central zone. Evidence is presented that the lym-phocytic infiltrate about atrophic glands, often ascribed to aging, is in fact usually a manifestation of chronic prostatitis.