Female Urethra
Diverticulum of the female urethra
- found in 1-5% of women;
- can be congenital or acquired
- acquired m/b 2/2 maternal birth trauma or instrumentation of the urethral tract
- usually presents with postvoid dribbling, followed by dysuria and dyspareunia (three Ds)
- Painful if becomes infected and distended with pus
- associated with hematuria, recurrent UTIs and stress urinary incontinence.
Dx
- Urethroscopy may be used to diagnose a urethral diverticulum but is invasive and may have difficulty in visualizing the contents of the diverticulum such as calculus or neoplasm.
- TV ultrasound and MR are both noninvasive imaging modalities that are sensitive for the detection of urethral diverticula in the appropriate context.