genitourinary tuberculosis
Last reviewed 09/2022
The genitourinary tract is involved in about 4% of patients with tuberculosis. In the Western world, the incidence is highest among debilitated elderly patients, and immigrants from the third world.
Mycobacteria reach the urinary tract through the bloodstream from a primary focus elsewhere, usually in the lungs. They cause typical caseous granulomas which may later calcify. In men, infection may also spread to the genital tract.