Urethral stricture

What it means

Narrowing of the urethra associated with inflammation or scar tissue.

A urethral stricture may result from surgery, disease, or injury. The term should not be used for a congenital narrowing of the urethra (Consider the term Urethral stenosis, HP:0008661). All strictures result from injury to the epithelium of the urethra or underlying corpus spongiosum, which ultimately causes fibrosis during the healing process. The pathological changes associated with strictures show that the normal pseudostratified columnar epithelium is replaced with squamous metaplasia. Small tears in this metaplastic tissue result in urinary extravasation, which causes a fibrotic reaction within the spongiosum. At the time of injury, this fibrosis can be asymptomatic; however, over time, the fibrotic process can cause further narrowing of the lumen of the urethra, resulting in symptomatic obstructive voiding.

Rare diseases that can present with this8

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category