Dorsal Prostate - Overview

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The prostate of rodents, unlike that of man, contains separate lobes: dorsal, lateral (the dorsal and lateral lobes are frequently combined as dorsolateral), ventral, and anterior (coagulating gland). All lobes consist of branching blind-ending tubules that are surrounded by a thin fibromuscular layer; between the tubules (glands) is loose connective tissue. The prostate glands contain luminal secretory, basal, and neuroendocrine (<0.3%) cells, but the basal and neuroendocrine cells can be identified by light microscope only after immunostaining for a cell-specific marker (e.g., keratin 5 for basal cells, chromogranin for neuroendocrine cells). The secretions of the prostate glands are carried by ducts to the colliculus seminalis. After copulation the prostate secretions together with the secretions of the seminal vesicles and bulbourethral glands form the copulatory plug to keep semen within the vagina.

The prostate lobes differ from each other in the appearance of both the epithelium lining the glands and the secretion in the gland lumen. The dorsal prostate has simple cuboidal epithelium that is somewhat folded. The luminal secretory cells in the epithelium have centrally to basally located nuclei. The secretion in the lumen of the dorsal prostate is a homogenous eosinophilic substance.

The 1.25X micrograph is an overview of the dorsal, ventral, and anterior prostates and adjacent organs, including vas deferens, (membranous) urethra, seminal vesicle, and ampullary gland. The 10X, 20X, and 40X micrographs show, in increasing detail, the glands of the dorsal prostate consisting of cuboidal epithelium and embedded in well-vascularized connective tissue. The 40X micrograph displays the luminal secretory cells in the cuboidal epithelium.