Cystitis is best defined as:

Cystitis is best defined as:

• A. Inflammation of the bladder
• B. Inflammation of the renal pelvis and the kidney
• C. Infection of the urethra
• D. Inflammation of the ureters

Answer: (A)

Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder wall. The bladder lining becomes irritated and inflamed, usually from an infection that has traveled up from the urethra. This causes urinary symptoms such as burning with urination, frequent or urgent urination, and sometimes blood in the urine. If the infection reaches the kidneys, it becomes pyelonephritis, which brings fever and flank pain and is a different condition. If the urethra is inflamed, that’s urethritis, with burning and discharge but not primarily bladder inflammation. Inflammation of the ureters would be ureteritis. So the defining idea is inflammation centered in the bladder.

Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder wall. The bladder lining becomes irritated and inflamed, usually from an infection that has traveled up from the urethra. This causes urinary symptoms such as burning with urination, frequent or urgent urination, and sometimes blood in the urine. If the infection reaches the kidneys, it becomes pyelonephritis, which brings fever and flank pain and is a different condition. If the urethra is inflamed, that’s urethritis, with burning and discharge but not primarily bladder inflammation. Inflammation of the ureters would be ureteritis. So the defining idea is inflammation centered in the bladder.