Gonorrhea

A venereal disease that causes inflammation of the mucous membranes of the urethra and adjacent cavities.

A sexually transmitted disease that produces a greenish yellow urethral or vaginal discharge.

A sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is characterized by symptoms that explicitly manifest in the male, but may be asymptomatic in the female. The first symptoms to appear in the male are a slight milky discharge from the urethra and a burning sensation during urination. Later symptoms include redness and swelling at the meatus of the penis and an increase in the discharge, sometimes containing blood is caused by a gram-negative diplococcus bacterium, the Neisseria gonorrhea.

Infection by the bacterium gonococcus, a common sexually transmitted disease and one of the traditional venereal diseases, infecting at least one million people each year, with an estimated one million more unreported, generally teenagers and young adults. Initial symptoms are mild, sometimes absent altogether, so gonorrhea can readily be spread unknowingly. Infection often takes hold in moist, warm parts of the body, such as the vagina, cervix, urinary tract, mouth, and rectum. Probably the most common serious complication is infection of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, resulting in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a major cause of infertility; other complications include infection in joints, heart, and brain.

Common sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae and transmitted through contact with an infected person or with secretions containing the bacteria. Symptoms include painful urination and burning, itching, and pain around the urethra and in women the vagina, accompanied by a greenish yellow, pus-containing discharge. If untreated, the infection spreads, especially in women, infecting the reproductive organs, causing inflammation of the liver, and if widespread, leading to septicemia and polyarthritis, with painful lesions in joints and tendons and infection of the conjunctiva of the eye that can lead to blindness. Treatment is by antibiotics.

A sexually transmitted disease caused by the microorganism Neisseria gonorrhea causing inflammation of the urethra, endocervix, and fallopian tubes.

A sexually transmitted disease caused by the gonococcus organism. It can be cured relatively quickly during its early stages. It may cause urethral discharge in men, vaginal discharge in women, arthritis-like symptoms, damage to a woman’s pelvic organs, and sterility, as well as other symptoms.

One of the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which thrives in moist body areas including the vagina, penis, throat, eye, and rectum. Gonorrhea is one of the most common infectious bacterial diseases in the United States. It can affect anyone of any age, but is most common among sexually active adults between the ages of 20 and 30.

A venereal disease, caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, that affects the genital mucous membranes of either sex. Symptoms develop about a week after infection and include pain on passing water and discharge of pus (known as gleet) from the penis (in men) or vagina (in women); some infected women, however, experience no symptoms. If a pregnant woman has gonorrhea, her baby’s eyes may become infected during passage through the birth canal. In untreated cases, the infection may spread throughout the reproductive system, causing sterility; severe inflammation of the urethra in men can prevent passage of water (a condition known as stricture). Later complications include arthritis, inflammation of the heart valves (endocarditis), and infection of the eyes, causing conjunctivitis. Treatment with sulfonamides, penicillin, or tetracycline in the early stages of the disease is usually effective. Compare syphilis.

A sexually transmitted infection caused by the gram-negative diplococcus Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The disease often causes inflammation of the urethra, prostate, cervix, fallopian tubes, rectum, and/or pharynx. Blood-borne infection may spread to the joints and skin, and congenitally transmitted infection to the eyes of a newborn during vaginal birth may cause neonatal conjunctivitis. Infection around the liver may result from peritoneal spread of the disease. Although members of either sex with urogenital gonorrhea may be asymptomatic, women are much less likely to notice burning with urination, urethral discharge, or perineal pain than men, in whom these symptoms are present 98% of the time. Co-infection with Chlamydia trachomatis is common in both sexes: some studies have shown simultaneous infection with both organisms to be as high as 30%. Even though syphilis rarely accompanies gonorrheal infection, patients with gonorrhea are routinely tested for this disease. Young, sexually active teenagers and young adults with multiple partners are at highest risk for contracting gonorrhea. In 2006 in the U.S. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated there were 358,000 cases of gonorrhea reported anually.

A bacterial STD that can cause inflammation in the cervix, mouth, rectum, or urinary tract. Symptoms include burning during urination, penile discharge, swollen lymph glands in the groin, abnormal vaginal discharge, and abdominal pain.

An STD that is caused by a bacterium that infects mucous membranes, including the genital mucous membranes.

A bacterial STD that infects the urinary tract of males and females and the reproductive organs of females.

Sexually transmitted bacterial disease that can lead to serious complications if left untreated, including sterility and scarring of the heart valves.