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Prostatitis means inflammation of the prostate gland.

Only men have a prostate. It is a small, solid gland about the size of a walnut. It sits at the base of the bladder. The main job of the prostate is to help make the milky fluid (semen) that comes out of your penis when you ejaculate. The fluid from your prostate helps keep your sperm healthy and helps them to swim.

If you have have prostatitis, you get pain in your pelvis (the area between your hip bones) or around your genitals. The word chronic means that the condition lasts a long time. Your doctor may say you have chronic prostatitis if you've had symptoms for at least six months.

Although prostatitis means an inflamed prostate, some doctors think that the pain may not be caused by the prostate. They think it might come from something else, such as tension in the muscles around your bladder. Because of this uncertainty, doctors sometimes use the term chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Prostatitis is different to an enlarged prostate (called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH). Lots of men get an enlarged prostate as they get older, but it doesn't usually cause pain.

Prostatitis is common but there hasn't been much research to help doctors recognize and treat it. Doctors still don't understand this condition very well.

There are two main types of prostatitis. In one type you have an infection in your urine or the fluid from your prostate. In the other type there are no obvious signs of infection. Symptoms for both types are similar. It's much more common to have chronic prostatitis without signs of an infection.

Researchers think that about 1 in 10 men with prostatitis have an infection.¹ But it's difficult to be sure of the numbers. You may hear this type of prostatitis called bacterial prostatitis. If you have this type of prostatitis, tests will show that there are bacteria in your urine or in the fluid from your prostate gland. You're also likely to have a high temperature and chills.

You may have tests to check for bacteria in your urine or in the fluid from your prostate. For many men, these tests will be negative. Doctors have started to call this type of prostatitis chronic pelvic pain syndrome because the main problem may not be to do with the prostate gland at all. You might also hear this type of prostatitis called non-bacterial prostatitis or abacterial prostatitis.

Researchers aren't sure what causes prostatitis. They are looking at:²

• Unusual infections caused by bacteria or other germs. These may be missed by the usual tests for infection
• Problems with the immune system. Prostatitis may be caused by a problem with your immune system
• Other muscles or organs in the pelvis. Some researchers think the symptoms of prostatitis are caused by tense muscles in your pelvis.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.