Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Bladder -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

Urinary bladder
Urinary system.
Bladder
Latin	vesica urinaria
Gray's	subject #255 1227
Artery	Superior vesical artery Inferior vesical artery Umbilical artery Vaginal artery
Vein	Vesical venous plexus
Nerve	Vesical nervous plexus
Lymph	external iliac lymph nodes, internal iliac lymph nodes
Precursor	urogenital sinus
MeSH	Bladder

In anatomy, the urinary bladder is a hollow, muscular, and distensible (or elastic) organ that sits on the pelvic floor in mammals. It is the organ that collects urine excreted by the kidneys prior to disposal by urination. Urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra.

In males, the bladder is superior to the prostate, and separated from the rectum by the rectovesical excavation.

In females, the bladder is separated from the uterus by the vesicouterine excavation.

Detrusor muscle

The detrusor muscle is a layer of the urinary bladder wall made of smooth muscle fibers arranged in spiral, longitudinal, and circular bundles. When the bladder is stretched, this signals the parasympathetic nervous system to contract the detrusor muscle. This encourages the bladder to expel urine through the urethra.

For the urine to exit the bladder, both the autonomically controlled internal sphincter and the voluntarily controlled external sphincter must be opened. Problems with these muscles can lead to incontinence. If the amount of urine reaches 100% of the urinary bladder volume, the voluntary sphincter becomes involuntary and the urine will be ejected instantly, although it is possible to "hold yourself" in order to prevent urination. The body cannot afford having the urinary bladder burst.

The urinary bladder usually holds 400–620 mL of urine, but it can hold twice this without rupturing if, for example, the outflow is obstructed.

The desire to urinate usually starts when the bladder reaches around 75% of its working volume. If the subject is distracted the desire can fade and return with more urgency as the bladder continues to fill.

Since the urinary bladder has a transitional epithelium, compared to the intestine mucosa, the urinary bladder does not produce mucus. ^[1]

Fundus

The fundus of the urinary bladder is the base of the bladder, formed by the posterior wall. It is lymphatically drained by the external iliac lymph nodes. The peritoneum lies superior to the fundus.

Disorders

Disorders of or related to the bladder include:

• Overactive bladder, a condition which affects a large number of people.
• Bladder cancer
• Bladder infection
• Bladder spasm
• Bladder sphincter dyssynergia, a condition in which the sufferer cannot coordinate relaxation of the urethra sphincter with the contraction of the bladder muscles
• Bladder stones
• Cystitis
• Hematuria, or presence of blood in the urine, is a reason to seek medical attention without delay, as it is a symptom of bladder cancer as well as bladder and kidney stones.
• Urinary incontinence
• Bladder exstrophy

Uses

Besides its normal use to the possessor, animal bladders (usually pig bladders) have been used to make balls (such as footballs, and even a musical instrument, the bumbass.

See also

• Artificial bladder
• Bladder augmentation
• Neurogenic bladder
• Ureterocele
• Urodynamics The study of the functional aspects of the detrusor muscle.
• Uvula of urinary bladder
• Vesicouretic reflux
• Urinary bladder disease

References

External links

• Histology at KUMC epithel-epith09 "Urinary Bladder"
• Organology at UC Davis Urinary/mammal/bladder/bladder1 - "Mammal, bladder (LM, Medium)"
• Virtual Slidebox at Univ. Iowa Slide 445
• SUNY Labs 43:07-0100 - "The Female Pelvis: The Urinary bladder"
• SUNY Labs 44:04-0103 - "The Male Pelvis: The Urinary bladder"

Additional images

Structure of the penis	Organs of the female reproductive system.	Coronal section of pelvis, showing arrangement of fasciæ. Viewed from behind.	Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses. (Bladder visible at lower left.) |
The peritoneum of the male pelvis.	Median sagitta section of male pelvis.	Male pelvic organs seen from right side.	Median sagittal section of female pelvis.
The interior of bladder.	Vertical section of bladder wall.	Fundus of the bladder with the vesiculæ seminales.	Vertical section of bladder, penis, and urethra.
Female pelvis and its contents, seen from above and in front.	Topography of thoracic and abdominal viscera.	The bladder can be seen highlighted in yellow in the illustration.	Layers of the urinary bladder wall and cross section of the detrusor muscle.

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 12 October 2008, at 12:38.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Bladder".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Bladder

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.