Which term refers to painful urination?

The term that refers to painful urination is dysuria. This condition can be caused by various factors, including urinary tract infections, irritation, or injury to the urinary tract. Dysuria is characterized by discomfort or pain during urination, which can lead to significant distress for individuals experiencing it. Understanding dysuria is essential for nursing assistants, as they may observe this symptom in patients and need to report it to nursing staff for further assessment and intervention.

In contrast, oliguria refers to a reduced urine output, nocturia is the need to wake up at night to urinate, and urinary retention is the inability to completely empty the bladder. While these terms pertain to urinary function, none specifically describes the experience of pain during urination, making dysuria the correct choice.