Recurrent Urethritis in the Female

Abstract

The female urethra is a short tube of relative anatomical simplicity (Fig. 1). Most urological textbooks, and even gynecological textbooks, treat this subject in a cursory manner. A search of the literature of the preantibiotic era produces a reasonable number of articles mainly dealing with that aspect of venereal disease affecting the female urethra. Nowadays, one sees a considerable amount written about pyelonephritis, the misuse of the catheter, and urinary tract bacteriology directed toward treatment with various drugs. There seems to be a lack of attention to anatomical pathology with respect to the epidemiology of urinary tract infections.