1b// Urinary Incontinence and Urinary Tract Symptoms Flashcards
How long are ureters and what is their diameter
25cm long and 3mm diameter
What are the layers of the ureters?
Ureters 3 layers of tissue-outer fibrous tissue, middle
muscle layer and inner epithelium layer.
What is the blood supply of the urinary tract?
renal/lumbar/gonadal/common iliac,
internal iliac and superior vesical arteries with corresponding venous drainage.
What is the nerve supply of the urinary tract?
autonomic nervous system
Where does the ureter reach?
L1 to sacroiliac joint
What are the lymphatics of the urinary tract?
left ureter drains into left para-aortic nodes
right ureter drains into right paracaval
interaortocaval lymph nodes
What is the placement of the organs in the urinary tract?
Kidneys are retroperitoneal.
Ureters descend in front of the tips of transverse spinous processes, cross sacro-iliac joint, then forwards next to rectum/ vagina.
Bladder is anterior in pelvis.
What are the anatomical variations in kidneys that can be found?
Single kidney (1% of the population)
Horse-shoe kidney
Ectopic kidney
What are the anatomical variations in ureters that can be found?
Partial duplication
Complete duplication
Where are the hold up points in the ureter?
Constriction points may block urine flow, especially if a kidney stone dislodges and becomes a ureteric stone (pain, ipsilateral impaired renal function):
Where the renal pelvis joins the top of the ureter- pelvic ureteric junction (PUJ, or UPJ)
Pelvic brim, crossing the iliac vessels
As it passes through the bladder wall; uretero-vesical junction (UVJ, or VUJ)
Where is the urinary bladder when filled and not filled?
Urinary bladder is the reservoir of urine. Detrusor muscle, lined with waterproof urothelium- a transitional epithelium
When empty, bladder is in the pelvis, when distended it is an abdomino-pelvic organ.
An empty bladder is a 4-sided pyramid in shape and has 4 angles- apex, neck and 2 lateral angles and 4 surfaces-base/posterior surface, 2 infero-lateral surfaces and a superior surface.
What is the blood supply of the urinary bladder?
superior and inferior vesical branches of internal iliac artery. Drained by vesical plexus which drains into internal iliac vein
What are the lymphatics of the urinary bladder?
internal iliac nodes and then paraaortic nodes
What is the nerve supply of the urinary bladder?
autonomic nervous system
What is the female urinary tract: bladder outlet like?
Urethra carries urine from bladder to the external urethral meatus in the vaginal vestibule. 3-4cm long.
External urethral sphincter- skeletal muscle, tonic contraction and also voluntary “guarding”. Controlled by pudendal nerve.
What is the blood supply for female urinary tract?
internal pudendal arteries and inferior vesical branches of the vaginal arteries with corresponding venous drainage.
What is the lymphatic supply for female urinary tract?
proximal urethra into internal iliac nodes, distal urethra to superficial inguinal lymph nodes.
What is the nerve supply for the female urinary tract?
vesical plexus (proximal), pudendal nerve (distal).
What is the male urinary tract: bladder outlet like?
The bladder neck; a sphincter which stays shut except when voiding. Controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.
Prostate gland; 4x3x2cm, conical shape, 2 (lateral) lobes, surrounds the proximal urethra. Secretes 75% of the seminal fluid which liquifies coagulated semen after deposition in the female genital tract.
External urethral sphincter- tonic contraction/ guarding. Opens for ejaculation. Controlled by pudendal nerve.
What is the blood supply for male urinary tract?
prostate- inferior vesical artery, urethra- bulbourethral artery and internal pudendal artery with corresponding venous drainage.
What is the lymphatic supply for male urinary tract?
prostatic and membranous urethra drain to obturator and internal iliac nodes, spongy urethra to deep and superficial inguinal nodes.
What is the nerve supply for the male urinary tract?
vesical plexus (proximal), pudendal nerve (distal).
What is involved in the micturition cycle?
storage –><– voiding
What is the storage aspect of micturition?
Bladder relaxed, serving as reservoir.
Outlet contracted, preventing leaks.
What is the voiding aspect of micturition?
Bladder contracting, expelling the urine.
Outlet relaxed, permitting flow.
Bladder should empty fully (<50 ml “post void residual”).
6 pees daily, 20 secs each means 2 mins per day spent voiding.
What is the neural control of micturition (summary)?
Prefrontal cortex permits the pontine micturition centre in the brainstem to change from storage mode to voiding.
This activates the parasympathetic nucleus (bladder contraction), and inhibits Onuf’s nucleus (sphincter relaxation)