A urethral afferent mediated excitatory bladder reflex exists in humans

An excitatory reflex between urethral flow receptors and the bladder has been established in animals, but attempts to demonstrate this reflex in humans using urethral fluid flow have been inconclusive. Intraurethral electrical stimulation has recently been shown to generate bladder contractions in a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience letters 2004-04, Vol.360 (1), p.9-12
Main Authors: Gustafson, Kenneth J, Creasey, Graham H, Grill, Warren M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Afferent nerve
Afferent Pathways - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Electric Stimulation - methods
Electrical stimulation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human subject
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Muscle Contraction - physiology
Muscle, Smooth - physiology
Pudendal reflex
Reflex - physiology
Sacral reflex
Spinal cord injury
Urethra - physiology
Urinary Bladder - physiology
Urinary catheterization
Urinary Catheterization - methods
Urinary tract physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:An excitatory reflex between urethral flow receptors and the bladder has been established in animals, but attempts to demonstrate this reflex in humans using urethral fluid flow have been inconclusive. Intraurethral electrical stimulation has recently been shown to generate bladder contractions in animals and was applied to study the presence of an excitatory urethra to bladder reflex in humans. The prostatic urethra was stimulated electrically via a catheter-based electrode in five men with complete spinal cord injury. Bladder contractions were generated in four of five individuals, however, only when the bladder volume was sufficiently large. These results demonstrate the presence of a volume dependent excitatory bladder reflex mediated by urethral afferent nerve fibers and the lumbosacral spinal cord.
ISSN:0304-3940
1872-7972
DOI:10.1016/j.neulet.2004.01.001