A kaleidoscopic view of male urethral pathologies on 64-slice multidetector computed tomographic urethrography: A novel technique

Abstract

Pathologies of the male urethra are mostly obstructive in nature and require imaging to delineate the lesion type, site, extent and associated abnormality of the urinary bladder. Contrast urethrography (CU) is the gold standard investigation for urethral assessment but has many limitations. Cross-sectional imaging is infrequently used for the evaluation of the urethra but has been gaining importance recently. Multidetector computed tomographic urethrography (MDCTU) has the capability of evaluating the entire length of a male urethra in a single setting and overcomes many technical and patient limitations of CU. Being a novel technique, most radiologists are not familiar with MDCTU and the imaging spectrum of various urethral and bladder pathologies. This pictorial review attempts to present the imaging appearance of the normal male urethra and spectrum of pathological findings, with highlights on its advantages over the CU technique.