What is an ectopic ureter?

What is an ectopic ureter?

The ureters are a pair of narrow tubes that carry urine (pee) from the two kidneys to your bladder. Usually, a person has one ureter attached to each kidney and each connects to one side of their bladder.

An ectopic ureter is a congenital abnormality of the ureter. A person is born with a ureter that connects to the wrong place. That is, an ectopic ureter carries urine to somewhere other than the bladder, such as:

• Bladder neck (at the bottom of the bladder, where urine enters the urethra and then leaves your body).
• Rectum (the end of the large intestine, leading to the anus).
• Seminal vesicles (glands that help produce semen in males).
• Urethra (the tube leading out of the bladder).
• Uterus (womb), cervix (lower part of the uterus) or vagina in females.
• Vas deferens or ejaculatory ducts, which carry sperm in males.