No abstract

Urinary excretion of nonesterified (NEC) and total cholesterol (TC) has been investigated in 79 patients with prostatic adenoma (BPH) and 48 patients with carcinoma of the prostate. Normal range of NEC was determined in 62 healthy individuals and was found to be 0.26-2.2 mg/24 hours (2 SD) with a mean value of 0.76 mg/24 hours. TC ranged from 0.3-2.9 mg124 hours with a mean value of 0.92 mg/24 hours. In benign prostatic hyperplasia normal values for NEC and TC were determined in stages without residual urine. in prostatic cancer has been reported re~e n t l y .~* " It was concluded that both parameters are valuable in the diagnosis of the disease. A comparative evaluation of NEC and TC has not yet been undertaken; in addition, the performed studies did not show the value of these parameters in diagnosis of early clinical stages. Other known common conditions of urinary cholesterol hyperexcretion in males are pluripotential testicular neoplasms, diseases of kidney and urinary tract and benign prostatic h y p e r p l a~i a .~J~~'~,~* J~ In regard to the frequency of BPH in comparison to prostatic carcinoma, it was additionally necessary Accepted for publication March 15, 1978. to investigate whether elevated levels of urinary cholesterol were present in all clinical stages of BPH or only in patients with BPH and residual urine with indication for surgical treatment. MATERIALS A N D METHODSNonesterified and total urinary cholesterol were analyzed in 2 ml aliquots of 24-hour urine. After extraction with 6 ml ethyl acetate for 30 minutes in a rotating system, the urinary phase was removed. The ethyl acetate extract was purified with alkali (2 ml 0 . 1~ NaOH) and water washings and dried under a stream of nitrogen. The residue was dissolved with 0.1 ml of the internal standard solution (10 mg 4-androstene-3, 17-dione/dl isooctane), followed by GLC on a 180 cm 1 % XE 60 column, i.d. 2 mm, temp. const. 220 C. Quantitation was performed due to the peak height ratio, since alterations of cholesterol and 4-androstenedione concentration gave a linear response.

The history of the term "prostate" is a prime example of the difficulties with which the development of a precise urologic terminology had to struggle. At the same time this retrospective view provides a stimulus to avoid linguistic ambiguity in the future.

The history of the terms "ureter" and "urethra" is exemplary of the difficulties with which the development of a precise urologic terminology had to struggle. The story behind the words also clarifies why even today we still have imprecise or misleading terms.