Swelling of the prostate

A swollen pipe strangling its own town

Imagine the prostate as a water treatment plant (the plant) that wraps around the main water pipe (the urethra) carrying water out of the reservoir (the bladder). One day, bacteria sneak into the plant through cracks in the pipe. The plant's security team (white blood cells) swarms to fight them, flooding the plant with defensive chemicals and heat (fever). But all that fighting makes the plant swell up like a balloon—and since it's clamped around the pipe, the swelling chokes the pipe shut. Now water backs up and can't flow smoothly, and the town's nerves (which run right past the plant) get squeezed and start screaming in pain. If the security team wins fast enough with antibiotics (like calling in extra guards), the plant shrinks and everything returns to normal. If not, pus collects in a sealed pocket inside the plant (an abscess), or bacteria break through into the water supply itself (sepsis), and the whole town goes into shock.