The length of the male urethra.
OBJECTIVE
Catheter-based medical devices are an important component of the urologic armamentarium. To our knowledge, there is no population-based data regarding normal male urethral length. We evaluated the length of the urethra in men with normal genitourinary anatomy undergoing either Foley catheter removal or standard cystoscopy.


METHODS
Male urethral length was obtained in 109 men. After study permission was obtained, the subject's penis was placed on a gentle stretch and the catheter was marked at the tip of the penis. The catheter was then removed and the distance from the mark to the beginning of the re-inflated balloon was measured. Alternatively, urethral length was measured at the time of cystoscopy, on removal of the cystoscope. Data on age, weight, and height was obtained in patients when possible.


RESULTS
The mean urethral length was 22.3 cm with a standard deviation of 2.4 cm. Urethral length varied between 15 cm and 29 cm. No statistically significant correlation was found between urethral length and height, weight, body mass index (BMI), or age.


CONCLUSIONS
Literature documenting the length of the normal male adult urethra is scarce. Our data adds to basic anatomic information of the male urethra and may be used to optimize genitourinary device design.
Kohler
Tobias S
TS
Division of Urology, Southern Illinois University, Springfield, IL 62794, USA. gambitguy@hotmail.com
Yadven
Mitchell
M
Manvar
Ankur
A
Liu
Nathan
N
Monga
Manoj
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D014521:Urethra / Q000033:anatomy & histology*