3D printing is an evolving technology that enables the creation of unique organic and inorganic structures with high precision. In urology, the technology has demonstrated potential uses in both patient and clinician education as well as in clinical practice. The four major techniques used for 3D printing are inkjet printing, extrusion printing, laser sintering, and stereolithography. Each of these techniques can be applied to the production of models for education and surgical planning, prosthetic construction, and tissue bioengineering. Bioengineering is potentially the most important application of 3D printing, as the ability to produce functional organic constructs might, in the future, enable urologists to replicate and replace abnormal tissues with neo-organs, improving patient survival and quality of life.

3D打印是一项不断发展的技术，可以高精度地创建独特的有机和无机结构。在泌尿科方面，该技术已证明在患者和临床医生教育以及临床实践中都有潜在的用途。3D打印使用的四种主要技术是喷墨打印，挤出打印，激光烧结和立体光刻。这些技术中的每一种都可以应用于教育和手术计划，假体构建和组织生物工程的模型的产生。生物工程可能是3D打印的最重要应用，因为产生功能性有机结构的能力将来可能使泌尿科医师复制新器官并用新器官替代异常组织，从而改善患者的生存率和生活质量。