Urinary bladder function and its control in healthy females

Abstract

Recordings in eight healthy female volunteers of bladder (detrusor) pressure and flow rate, obtained during bladder filling and during voiding, both through the urethra and through a catheter, demonstrate that a model of bladder function in which the detrusor muscle is considered as completely passive during filling and fully activated during voiding is inadequate. Assessment of the detrusor contraction strength by a new method (described in APPENDIX A) shows that in ideal normal voidings the contraction strength rises to values of 11-24 W/m2 and is sustained or rises slightly until the bladder is empty. During unstable detrusor contractions, which even in these healthy women are observed during bladder filling and also during inhibited voidings through the urethra, the contraction is weaker. During voidings through a catheter the detrusor contraction is weak, variable, and fades away before the bladder is empty. An elementary feedback analysis demonstrates that the effect of the micturition reflex governing detrusor behavior differs according to whether or not voiding is taking place. The reflex does not lead to a simple on-off mechanism but to a more complex behavior that is consistent with the observations and that appears to be important for the understanding of pathological obstructed micturition.