[Urine retention-From the symptom to the structure].

Urinary retention describes the inability to urinate. Based on the symptoms and the amount of the initial residual urine formation, a differentiation can be made between acute and chronic forms. The cause can be a subvesical obstruction or a bladder atony. In addition to emergency treatment in the form of initial relief of the strain on the bladder by insertion of a catheter, the indication for a definitive treatment with a clarification of the question whether an acute or chronic event is present is also important. Although the selection of the catheter is subject to few criteria, the further structured approach is complex. Both decision trees are presented in this article.