Prostatic Maldevelopment in the Prune Belly Syndrome: A Defect in Prostatic Stromal-epithelial Interaction

Abstract

The prune belly syndrome consists of a triad of abdominal wall musculature deficiency, cryptorchidism and urinary tract anomalies. A rarely described but fairly constant component of the syndrome is the lack of development of the epithelial elements of the prostate. We wish to suggest that this is a further expression of a postulated arrest in mesenchymal development responsible for other features of the syndrome.