Urinary tract infection

A urinary tract infection is an infection in the urethra, bladder, ureters, or kidneys. Most are caused by bacteria entering through the urethra.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli: Strains of Escherichia coli adapted to colonize and infect the urinary tract. These bacteria cause most community-acquired urinary tract infections.
Urethra: The tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. It is the usual entry point for bacteria causing an ascending infection.
Antibiotic susceptibility testing: Laboratory testing that determines which antimicrobial drugs inhibit a microorganism. Culture results can reveal whether the infecting bacteria resist a proposed antibiotic.
Urethritis: Inflammation of the urethra, often caused by infection. It is a urethra-specific condition that can overlap with lower urinary infection symptoms.
Bacterial adhesion: The attachment of bacteria to host cells or surfaces through specific molecular interactions. Adhesion helps urinary pathogens resist being flushed out during urination.
Urinary bladder: A hollow muscular organ that stores urine before it leaves the body. Bladder infection is the common form called cystitis.
Antibiotic resistance: The ability of microorganisms to survive exposure to drugs that would ordinarily inhibit or kill them. Resistance can make standard urinary infection treatments ineffective.
Cystitis: Inflammation of the urinary bladder, commonly caused by bacterial infection. This is the usual name for infection confined to the bladder.
Ascending infection: The spread of infection upward from a lower body site into connected structures. Most urinary infections ascend from the urethra toward the bladder and sometimes kidneys.
Urine culture: A laboratory test that grows and identifies microorganisms in a urine sample. It can identify the cause and guide antibiotic selection.

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