Abdominal examination in urological disease
Because of their retroperitoneal (kidneys, ureters) or pelvic location (bladder and prostate) urological organs are relatively inaccessible to the examining hand when compared with, for example, the spleen, liver, or bowel. For the same reason, for the kidneys and bladder to be palpable implies a fairly advanced disease state. It is important that the urologist appreciates the characteristics of other intra-abdominal organs when involved with disease, so that they may be distinguished from urological organs.