Ethanol and sulfamethoxazole for functional evaluation of male accessory glands.

The secretory function of male accessory glands was tested with two chemical markers, ethanol and sulfamethoxazole (SMZ). Fifty-eight men ingested 70 ml of 40% ethanol; ethanol reached a peak in the blood and prostatic fluid within 0.5 hr, which was sustained for 2 hr. Twenty-one men ingested 1.6 g of SMZ; SMZ reached a peak in serum and semen 4 hr after ingestion and was sustained in semen for 24 hr. Ethanol and SMZ were excreted equally by the prostate and seminal vesicle. Pathologies of the prostate were not correlated with either ethanol or SMZ secretion.