[Studies in prostatitis].

(1) No concise picture of the disease could be found, nor even any with which most clinicians would agree. For instance, in England and the Scandinavian countries, there has been described a severe variety of chronic prostatitis unlike anything encountered in the. United States (Giertz, 1955). (2) Little was known about its aetiology; bacteriological studies have been, at best, equivocal and before the conquest of gonorrhoea, chronic prostatitis was considered a regular sequel to that disease. However, the advent of penicillin has not reduced the frequency of prostatitis, and, more recently, it has been suggested that the disease may have a large psychogenic component (Rosenbloom, 1949). (3) Diagnosis was difficult because rectal palpation was thought to miss a significant number of "silent" cases, while the examination of prostatic secretions was often misleading, initially at least, in obvious instances of even severe infections. (4) The results of all forms of treatment were disappointing, and more and more people were resorting to time-accepted methods, chiefly prostatic massage. (5) There was no unanimity of opinion regarding the significance of chronic prostatitis. In view of the foregoing, it was decided to carry out the following investigations: