Editing Prostate (section)

===Development===
{{Further|Development of the reproductive system}}

In the developing [[embryo]], at the hind end lies an inpouching called the [[Cloaca (embryology)|cloaca]]. This, over the fourth to the seventh week, divides into a [[urogenital sinus]] and the beginnings of the [[anal canal]], with a wall forming between these two inpouchings called the [[urorectal septum]].<ref name="Sadley-2019">{{Cite book |last=Sadley |first=TW |title=Langman's medical embryology |date=2019 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer |isbn=9781496383907 |edition=14th |location=Philadelphia |pages=263–66 |chapter=Bladder and urethra}}</ref> The urogenital sinus divides into three parts, with the middle part forming the urethra; the upper part is largest and becomes the [[urinary bladder]], and the lower part then changes depending on the biological sex of the embryo.<ref name="Sadley-2019" />

The prostatic part of the urethra develops from the middle, pelvic, part of the urogenital sinus, which is of [[endoderm]]al origin.<ref name="Sadley-2019a">{{Cite book |last=Sadley |first=TW |title=Langman's medical embryology |date=2019 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer |isbn=9781496383907 |edition=14th |location=Philadelphia |pages=265–6}}</ref> Around the end of the third month of embryonic life, outgrowths arise from the prostatic part of the urethra and grow into the surrounding [[mesenchyme]].<ref name="Sadley-2019a" /> The cells lining this part of the urethra differentiate into the glandular epithelium of the prostate.<ref name="Sadley-2019a" /> The associated mesenchyme differentiates into the dense connective tissue and the [[Smooth muscle tissue|smooth muscle]] of the prostate.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Keith L. |title=Before We are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects |last2=Persaud |first2=T. V. N. |last3=Torchia |first3=Mark G. |publisher=Saunders/Elsevier |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4160-3705-7 |edition=7th}}</ref>

Condensation of [[mesenchyme]], [[urethra]], and [[Wolffian duct]]s gives rise to the adult prostate gland, a composite organ made up of several tightly fused glandular and non-glandular components. To function properly, the prostate needs male [[hormones]] ([[androgen]]s), which are responsible for male [[sex]] characteristics. The main male hormone is [[testosterone]], which is produced mainly by the [[testicle]]s. It is [[dihydrotestosterone]] (DHT), a metabolite of testosterone, that predominantly regulates the prostate. The prostate gland enlarges over time, until the fourth decade of life.<ref name="Standring-2016" />