SDHB Urology Services - Southland provide inpatient and outpatient services for conditions concerning disorders of the kidney, bladder, urinary tract and prostate.
Urology Outpatient Clinics consist of first assessment, procedures and follow-up appointments (clinics are by appointment only).
Patients are seen by a consultant urologist, registrar (a fully-qualified doctor training to become a consultant), or a urology nurse specialist.
The Acute Urology Service is shared with Dunedin Hospital.
Urology Outpatient Clinics consist of first assessment, procedures and follow-up appointments (clinics are by appointment only).
Patients are seen by a consultant urologist, registrar (a fully-qualified doctor training to become a consultant), or a urology nurse specialist.
The Acute Urology Service is shared with Dunedin Hospital.
What is Urology?
Urology is the branch of medicine that looks at diseases of the urinary system in females and the genitourinary system (urinary system plus genital organs) in males. The urinary system is made up of the:
- kidneys (where urine is formed from material filtered out of the blood)
- ureters (tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder)
- bladder (a balloon-like organ that stores urine)
- sphincter muscles (muscles around the opening of the bladder into the urethra)
- urethra (the tube that carries urine to the outside of your body).
The male genital organs include the penis, scrotum and prostate gland. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located between the bladder and the penis and in front of the rectum. The urethra passes through the center of the prostate. A doctor who specialises in disorders of the urinary system and also the male reproductive system is known as an urologist. A doctor who specialises in kidneys and their function is called a nephrologist.