The incidence of urethral diverticulum has been increasing in the 2000s, likely due to increasing diagnosis and detection of the condition. It is estimated to be present in as low as 0.02% of all women and as high as 6% of all women, and 40% of women with lower urinary tract symptoms. Most symptomatic urethral diverticula are present in women from 30–60 years old.

84% of periurethral masses are due to urethral diverticula.

Urethral diverticulum can occur in men, and can cause complications including kidney stones and urinary tract infections.

Urethral strictures most commonly result from injury, urethral instrumentation, infection, non-infectious inflammatory conditions of the urethra, and after prior hypospadias surgery. Less common causes include congenital urethral strictures and those resulting from malignancy.

Urethral strictures after blunt trauma can generally be divided into two sub-types;

- Pelvic fracture-associated urethral disruption occurs in as many as 15% of severe pelvic fractures. These injuries are typically managed with suprapubic tube placement and delayed urethroplasty 3 months later. Early endoscopic realignment may be used in select cases instead of a suprapubic tube, but these patients should be monitored closely as vast majority of them will require urethroplasty.

- Blunt trauma to the perineum compresses the bulbar urethra against the pubic symphysis, causing a "crush" injury. These patients are typically treated with suprapubic tube and delayed urethroplasty.

Other specific causes of urethral stricture include:

- Instrumentation (e.g., after transurethral resection of prostate, transurethral resection of bladder tumor, or endoscopic kidney surgery)

- Infection (typically with Gonorrhea)

- Lichen sclerosus

- Surgery to address hypospadias can result in a delayed urethral stricture, even decades after the original surgery.

Globally, up to 35% of the population over the age of 60 years is estimated to be incontinent.

In 2014, urinary leakage affected between 30% and 40% of people over 65 years of age living in their own homes or apartments in the U.S. Twenty-four percent of older adults in the U.S. have moderate or severe urinary incontinence that should be treated medically.

Bladder control problems have been found to be associated with higher incidence of many other health problems such as obesity and diabetes. Difficulty with bladder control results in higher rates of depression and limited activity levels.

Incontinence is expensive both to individuals in the form of bladder control products and to the health care system and nursing home industry. Injury related to incontinence is a leading cause of admission to assisted living and nursing care facilities. More than 50% of nursing facility admissions are related to incontinence.

If both ejaculatory ducts are completely obstructed, affected men will demonstrate male infertility due to aspermia/azoospermia. They will suffer from a very low volume of semen which lacks the gel-like fluid of the seminal vesicles or from no semen at all while they are able to have the sensation of an orgasm during which they will have involuntary contractions of the pelvic musculature. This is contrary to some other forms of anejaculation.

Ejaculatory duct obstruction is the underlying cause for 1–5% of male infertility.

In addition, it is reported to be a cause for pelvic pain, especially shortly after ejaculation. In case of proven fertility but unresolved pelvic pain, even one or both partially obstructed ejaculatory ducts may be the origin of pelvic pain and oligospermia.

Ejaculatory duct obstruction may result in a complete lack of semen (aspermia) or a very low-volume semen (oligospermia) which may contain only the secretion of accessory prostate glands downstream to the orifice of the ejaculatory ducts.

In addition to the congenital form which is often caused by cysts of the müllerian duct the obstruction can be acquired due to an inflammation caused by chlamydia, prostatitis, tuberculosis of the prostate and other pathogens. In Addition, calculus was reported to mechanically block the ejaculatory duct, leading to infertility. However, in many patients, there is no history of an inflammation and the underlying cause simply remains unknown.

Urethral dilation and other endoscopic approaches such as direct vision internal urethrotomy (DVIU), laser urethrotomy, and self intermittent dilation are the most commonly used treatments for urethral stricture. However, these approaches are associated with low success rates and may worsen the stricture, making future attempts to surgically repair the urethra more difficult.

A Cochrane review found that performing intermittent self-dilatation may confer a reduced risk of recurrent urethral stricture after endoscopic treatment, but the evidence is weak.

It has been estimated that VUR is present in more than 10% of the population. Younger children are more prone to VUR because of the relative shortness of the submucosal ureters. This susceptibility decreases with age as the length of the ureters increases as the children grow. In children under the age of 1 year with a urinary tract infection, 70% will have VUR. This number decreases to 15% by the age of 12. Although VUR is more common in males antenatally, in later life there is a definite female preponderance with 85% of cases being female.

Frisch & Simonsen (2016) carried out a very large scale study in Denmark, which compared the incidence of meatal stenosis in Muslim males (mostly circumcised) with the incidence of meatal stenosis in ethnic Danish males (mostly non-circumcised). The risk of meatal stenosis in circumcised males was found to be as much 3.7 times higher than in the intact, non-circumcised males.

Post-void dribbling or post-micturition dribbling is the where urine remaining in the urethra after voiding the bladder slowly leaks out after urination. A common and usually benign complaint, it may be a symptom of urethral diverticulum, prostatitis and other medical problems.

Men who experience dribbling, especially after prostate cancer surgery, will choose to wear incontinence pads to stay dry. Also known as guards for men, these incontinence pads conform to the male body. Some of the most popular male guards are from Tena, Depends, and Prevail. Simple ways to prevent dribbling include: strengthening pelvic muscles with Kegel exercises, changing position while urinating, or pressing on the perineum to evacuate the remaining urine from the urethra. Sitting down while urinating is also shown to alleviate complaints: a meta-analysis on the effects of voiding position in elderly males with benign prostate hyperplasia found an improvement of urologic parameters in this position, while in healthy males no such influence was found.

In a small minority of cases of urethral syndrome, treatment with antibiotics is effective, which indicates that in some cases it may be caused by bacterial infection which does not show up in either urinalysis or urine culture. For chronic urethral syndrome, a long term, low-dose antibiotic treatment is given on a continuous basis or after intercourse each time if intercourse appears to trigger symptoms.

As low oestrogen may also be considered a source for urethral syndrome, hormone replacement therapy, and oral contraceptive pill (birth-control pills) containing oestrogen are also used to treat the symptoms of this condition in women.

Extravasation of urine due to blunt renal trauma or ureteral obstruction can lead to the formation of an urinoma.

Signs indicative of urethral syndrome include a history of chronic recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) in the absence of both conventional bacterial growth and pyuria (more than 5 white blood cells per High Power Field). Episodes are often related to sexual intercourse.

Some physicians believe that urethral syndrome may be due to a low grade infection of the Skene's glands on the sides and bottom of the urethra. The Skene's glands are embryologically related to the prostate gland in the male, thus urethral syndrome may share a comparable cause with chronic prostatitis.

Possible non-infective causes include hormonal imbalance, trauma, allergies, anatomical features such as diverticula, and post-surgical scarring and adhesions.

There are two types of prostatic stent: temporary and permanent.

Although a permanent prostatic stent is not a medical treatment, it falls under the classification of a surgical procedure. Placement of a permanent prostatic stent is carried out as an outpatient treatment under local, topical or spinal anesthesia and usually takes about 15–30 minutes.

A temporary prostatic stent can be inserted in a similar manner to a Foley catheter, requiring only topical anesthesia.

In women, physical changes resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause often contribute to stress incontinence. Stress incontinence can worsen during the week before the menstrual period. At that time, lowered estrogen levels may lead to lower muscular pressure around the urethra, increasing chances of leakage. The incidence of stress incontinence increases following menopause, similarly because of lowered estrogen levels. In female high-level athletes, effort incontinence occurs in all sports involving abrupt repeated increases in intra-abdominal pressure that may exceed perineal floor resistance.

Bladder symptoms affect women of all ages. However, bladder problems are most prevalent among older women. Women over the age of 60 years are twice as likely as men to experience incontinence; one in three women over the age of 60 years are estimated to have bladder control problems. One reason why women are more affected is the weakening of pelvic floor muscles by pregnancy.

In addition to weight loss and exercise there are some behavioral changes that can improve stress incontinence. First decrease the amount of liquid that you are ingesting, and avoid drinking caffeinated beverages because they irritate the bladder. Spicy foods, carbonated beverages, alcohol and citrus also irritate the bladder and should be avoided. Quitting smoking can also improve stress incontinence because smoking irritates the bladder and can make you cough (putting stress on the bladder).

Ejaculatory duct obstruction (EDO) is a congenital or acquired pathological condition which is characterized by the obstruction of one or both ejaculatory ducts. Thus, the efflux of (most constituents of) semen is not possible.

It is a cause of male infertility and / or pelvic pain. Ejaculatory duct obstruction must not be confused with an obstruction of the vas deferens.

A prostatic stent is a stent used to keep open the male urethra and allow the passing of urine in cases of prostatic obstruction and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Prostatic obstruction is a common condition with a variety of causes. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common cause, but obstruction may also occur acutely after treatment for BPH such as transurethral needle ablation of the prostate (TUNA), transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT), prostate cancer or after radiation therapy.

Extravasation of urine refers to the condition where an interruption of the urethra leads to a collection of urine in other cavities, such as the scrotum or the penis in males. It can be associated with a calculus.

The American Urological Association recommends ongoing monitoring of children with VUR until the abnormality resolves or is no longer clinically significant. The recommendations are for annual evaluation of blood pressure, height, weight, analysis of the urine, and kidney ultrasound.

Retrograde ejaculation occurs when semen, which would, in most cases, be ejaculated via the urethra, is redirected to the urinary bladder. Normally, the sphincter of the bladder contracts before ejaculation forcing the semen to exit via the urethra, the path of least resistance. When the bladder sphincter does not function properly, retrograde ejaculation may occur. It can also be induced deliberately by a male as a primitive form of male birth control (known as "coitus saxonicus") or as part of certain alternative medicine practices.

Stones can cause disease by several mechanisms:

- Irritation of nearby tissues, causing pain, swelling, and inflammation

- Obstruction of an opening or duct, interfering with normal flow and disrupting the function of the organ in question

- Predisposition to infection (often due to disruption of normal flow)

A number of important medical conditions are caused by stones:

- Nephrolithiasis (kidney stones)

- Can cause hydronephrosis (swollen kidneys) and renal failure

- Can predispose to pyelonephritis (kidney infections)

- Can progress to urolithiasis

- Urolithiasis (urinary bladder stones)

- Can progress to bladder outlet obstruction

- Cholelithiasis (gallstones)

- Can predispose to cholecystitis (gall bladder infections) and ascending cholangitis (biliary tree infection)

- Can progress to choledocholithiasis (gallstones in the bile duct) and gallstone pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)

- Gastric calculi can cause colic, obstruction, torsion, and necrosis.

Numerous studies over a long period of time clearly indicate that male circumcision contributes to the development of urethral stricture. Among circumcised males, reported incidence of meatal stricture varies. Griffiths "et al". (1985) reported an incidence of 2.8 percent. Sörensen & Sörensen (1988) reported 0 percent. Cathcart "et al". (2006) reported an incidence of 0.55 percent. Yegane "et al". (2006) reported an incidence of 0.9 percent. Van Howe (2006) reported an incidence of 7.29 percent. In Van Howe's study, all cases of meatal stenosis were among circumcised boys. Simforoosh "et al". (2010) reported an incidence of 0.55 percent. According to Emedicine (2016), the incidence of meatal stenosis runs from 9 to 20 percent. Frisch & Simonsen (2016) placed the incidence at 5 to 20 percent of circumcised boys.

Occurring at a rate between 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 50,000 with a male-to-female ratio of 2.3-6:1, bladder exstrophy is relatively rare. For those individuals with bladder exstrophy who maintain their ability to reproduce, the risk of bladder exstrophy in their children is approximately 500-fold greater than the general population.

A malfunctioning bladder sphincter, leading to retrograde ejaculation, may be a result either of:

- Autonomic nervous system dysfunction. (Dysautonomia)

- Operation on the prostate. It is a common complication of transurethral resection of the prostate, a procedure in which prostate tissue is removed, slice by slice, through a resectoscope passed along the urethra.

It can also be caused by a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer if nerve pathways to the bladder sphincter are damaged, with the resulting retrograde ejaculation being either temporary or permanent. Modern nerve-sparing techniques seek to reduce this risk; however, it may also occur as the result of Green Light Laser prostate surgery.

Surgery on the bladder neck accounted for about ten percent of the cases of retrograde ejaculation or anejaculation reported in a literature review.

Retrograde ejaculation is a common side effect of medications, such as tamsulosin, that are used to relax the muscles of the urinary tract, treating conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia. By relaxing the bladder sphincter muscle, the likelihood of retrograde ejaculation is increased.

The medications that mostly cause it are antidepressant and antipsychotic medication, as well as NRIs such as atomoxetine; patients experiencing this phenomenon tend to quit the medications.

Retrograde ejaculation can also be a complication of diabetes, especially in cases of diabetics with long term poor blood sugar control. This is due to neuropathy of the bladder sphincter. Post-pubertal males (aged 17 to 20 years) who experience repeated episodes of retrograde ejaculation are often diagnosed with urethral stricture disease shortly after the initial complaint arises. It is currently not known whether a congenital malformation of the bulbous urethra is responsible, or if pressure applied to the base of the penis or perineum immediately preceding ejaculatory inevitability may have inadvertently damaged the urethra. This damage is most often seen within 0.5 cm of the ejaculatory duct (usually distal to the duct).

Retrograde ejaculation can also result from pinching closed the urethral opening, to avoid creating a mess upon ejaculation (known as "Hughes' technique").