{{short description|Congenital disorder of urinary system}} {{Infobox medical condition (new) | name = Ectopic ureter | image = Ectopic Ureter Positions.jpg | caption = These two illustrations are posterior views of all the possible locations of ectopic ureter insertion (red dots) in a female (left illustration) and a male (right illustration). The different colors indicate embryologic origin of structure: a) red = [[Ureteric bud|metanephric]] duct ([[ureter]]), b) yellow = [[urogenital sinus]] ([[Urinary bladder|bladder]] and [[urethra]]), c) blue = [[Wolffian ducts|Wolffian duct]] (Gartner's ducts in female, [[seminal vesicles]] and [[vasa deferentia]] in male), pink = [[Paramesonephric duct|Müllerian ducts]] (vagina in female, [[prostatic utricle]] in male), green = [[hindgut]] ([[rectum]]). | | pronounce = | field = urology | synonyms = Ureteral ectopia | complications = | onset = | duration = | types = | causes = | risks = | diagnosis = | differential = | prevention = | treatment = | medication = | prognosis = | frequency = | deaths = }}
'''Ectopic ureter''' (or '''ureteral ectopia''') is a medical condition where the [[ureter]], rather than terminating at the [[urinary bladder]], terminates at a different site.<ref name="titleDefinition: ectopic ureter from Online Medical Dictionary">{{cite web |url=http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?ectopic+ureter |title=Definition: ectopic ureter from Online Medical Dictionary |access-date=2007-12-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/405340_2 |title=An Ectopic Ureter |access-date=2007-12-01 }}</ref> In males this site is usually the [[urethra]], in females this is usually the [[urethra]] or [[vagina]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urologyhealth.org/pediatric/index.cfm?cat=01&topic=71 |title=UrologyHealth.org - Pediatric Conditions: Abnormalities - Ectopic Ureter |access-date=2009-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114211213/http://www.urologyhealth.org/pediatric/index.cfm?cat=01&topic=71 |archive-date=2008-11-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It can be associated with [[renal dysplasia]],<ref name="titleAbnormal Ureteric Development">{{cite web |url=http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/Meded/urology/abnurtdv.htm |title=Abnormal Ureteric Development |access-date=2007-12-01 }}</ref> frequent [[urinary tract infections]], and [[urinary incontinence]] (usually continuous drip incontinence).<ref name="pmid17579108">{{cite journal |vauthors=Gordon M, Cervellione RM, Hennayake S |title=Constant urinary dribbling due to an ectopic ureter and delays in diagnosis |journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila) |volume=46 |issue=6 |pages=544–6 |year=2007 |pmid=17579108 |doi=10.1177/0009922807299311|s2cid=21573692 }}</ref> Ectopic ureters are found in 1 of every 2000–4000 patients,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/reprint/189/5/W272.pdf |title=Duplicated Ectopic Ureter |access-date=2009-02-10 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and can be difficult to diagnose, but are most often seen on [[CT scans]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/67464.php |title=Diagnosis Of Ectopic Ureter As A Cause Of Urinary Incontinence |access-date=2009-02-10 |archive-date=2009-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222174930/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/67464.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Ectopic ureter is commonly a result of a [[Duplicated ureter|duplicated renal collecting system]], a [[duplex kidney]] with 2 ureters. In this case, usually one ureter drains correctly to the bladder, with the duplicated ureter presenting as ectopic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/378075-overview |title= Duplicated Collecting System |access-date=2009-02-10 }}</ref>
The embryology that explains the pathology of an ectopic ureter is a cephalad origin of the ureteral bud on the mesonephric duct. With an abnormally long common excretory duct, the ureter never becomes incorporated into the bladder, and, therefore, remains ectopic. In the female, the most common locations of an ectopic ureter are the bladder neck, urethra, or Gartner's duct which lies between the urethra and the anterior vaginal wall.<ref name="pmidhttps://doi.org/10.1016/0090-4295(83)90302-3">{{cite journal| author=Schmoldt A, Benthe HF, Haberland G| title=Digitoxin metabolism by rat liver microsomes. | journal=Biochemical Pharmacology | year= 1975 | volume= 24 | issue= 17 | pages= 1639–41 | pmid=10| doi=10.1016/0006-2952(75)90094-5 | hdl=10033/333424 | hdl-access=free }} </ref>
==See also== * [[Ectopia (disambiguation)]]
==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 = {{ICD10|Q|62|6|q|60}} | ICD9 = {{ICD9|753.4}} | ICDO = | OMIM = | MedlinePlus = | eMedicineSubj = med | eMedicineTopic = 3196 | MeshID = }} {{Congenital malformations of urinary system}}
[[Category:Congenital disorders of urinary system]]