The Caliber and Length of the Urethra in Asymptomatic Taiwanese Adult Females

Abstract

Currently, there are no data on the caliber and length of the urethra in Taiwanese adult females. The aim of this study was to determine the caliber and length of the urethra, and to evaluate their correlations with age, body height, body weight and body mass index (BMI) in asymptomatic Taiwanese adult females. Twenty-three women with a mean age of 63.2 years (range, 41-82 years) were studied. All study subjects claimed to have no difficulty in voiding. Measurements were taken just prior to the scheduled cystoscopy under local anesthesia. We used a bougie à boule to measure the caliber of the urethra, and used a scaled cystoscope sheath to determine the length of the urethra. Correlations of urethral length and caliber with age, body height, body weight and BMI were analyzed using Spearman correlation. The mean age, body height and weight were 63.2 ± 12.4 years, 154.1 ± 8.3 cm and 54.3 ± 8.1 kg, respectively. The mean adult female urethra was 3.7 ± 0.7 cm long and 7.5 ± 0.6 mm (i.e., 23.7 ± 1.9 French) in diameter. There were no statistically significant correlations of urethral length and caliber with age, body height, body weight and BMI (all p > 0.05). There was no correlation of urethral length and urethral caliber with age, body height, body weight and BMI in asymptomatic adult women. This study provides valuable normal data as the reference for clinical evaluation of voiding dysfunction, and defines urethral stricture and reconstructive surgery of the urethra in females.