S ignificant progress has been made in recent years in the understanding and management of lower genitourinary tract disorders. Such advances pertain to common voiding disorders as well as to sexual function disorders occurring in both men and women. OAB has received considerable clinical and academic attention in recent years, which has led to a better understanding of the condition. One of the more significant developments has been the revised definition of OAB of the International Continence Society, characterizing it primarily by its symptom of urinary urgency. Patients with OAB may or may not experience UI, but the majority experience micturition frequency and nocturia. Regardless of whether incontinence is present, OAB has the potential to significantly impair quality of life in an individual. Embarrassment leads many patients to avoid social interaction, and the common misconception that UI is an unavoidable part of the aging process prevents many from seeking treatment. Sexual dysfunctions in men and women have come to light as major quality of life issues but also as public health concerns. Sexual dysfunction may have both physical and emotional causes, which may coexist in the same patient and, like UI, it is frequently an embarrassing condition for patients to address, both with their physician and their partner. This supplement to The Journal of Urology® summarizes some of the critical research data and other materials presented October 22 to 23, 2004 at Annual Advances in Genitourinary Health: A Scientific Update in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the meeting was to bring practitioners from various fields of medicine together, including urologists, gynecologists and urogynecologists, primary care specialists, and clinicians of all types, to discuss and exchange up-to-date information in an interactive and scholarly forum. The focus of the Scientific Update was broad, including lower urinary tract symptoms in men and women, sexual dysfunction, guidelines for managing urological cancers, and surgical issues in obstetrics and gynecology; and it included a State-of-the Art Lecture in Complementary Medicine for Men. The authors of the following review