Genitourinary TB is the most common form of extra-pulmonary TB today, although the proportion of children in Stannington who suffered from this form of TB was relatively low. It usually presents between 5 and 25 years after primary infection, and as such is rarely seen in children. Still, in cases of childhood genitourinary TB, it is most commonly found either amongst young infants or not until a child reaches puberty and is also a leading cause of congenital TB in new-born babies.

This form of tuberculosis is secondary, usually to the lungs, and is caused by seeding of the tuberculous infection in the kidneys or the prostate and seminal vesicles by way of haematogenous or lymphatic spread. Extension of the disease to other genital organs is by ascent or descent of the infection along the genitourinary tract, which can result in further renal, ureteric, epididymis and bladder involvement along with both male and female genitals. The most common symptoms for this form of TB include frequent urination, dysuria (painful urination), blood or pus in the urine, testicular swelling, perianal sinus formation or genital ulcers, in addition to fever. In progressive forms genitourinary TB can also cause infertile.

In Stannington genitourinary tuberculosis was often initially diagnosed as abdominal TB, due to the patient complaining of pain in the abdominal region. There is usually distension of the abdomen with a possible lower abdominal mass in genitourinary tuberculosis, symptoms that are generally seen in females and are associated with tuberculosis of the fallopian tubes or uterus. This being the case the number of genitourinary patients in Stannington may have been much higher than initially thought.

Plain radiographic imaging is used, firstly to identify primary infection in the lungs and secondly of the abdomen to identify any renal calcifications. Other forms of genitourinary tuberculosis rarely lead to calcification and such are not visible radiographically. However, there is one reference in the Stannington files to an intravenous pyelogram being performed, a non-invasive, x-ray examination utilising contrast material to investigate the kidneys, ureters and bladder.

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