Lower Urinary Tract Structure Flashcards
What are some properties of the bladder?
- hollow
- muscular
- organ
- wall has rugae folds
What is the function of the bladder?
- to provide a reservoir for storage of urine
- to act as a system for expelling urine
Where is the bladder located?
In the pelvic cavity
Just behind the pubic symphysis
What are rugae?
- Allow expansion of the bladder without increasing stress/pressure of the bladder, otherwise stress would damage ureters and kidney
- Folds in the wall of the bladder
What are the layers of the bladder wall?
- Mucosa (most inner)
- Detrusor muscle layer
- Adventitial layer
What are the properties of the bladder mucosa layer?
Stretchable
Epithelial
What are the properties of the detrusor muscle?
When contracts causes voiding
A smooth muscle
Under involuntary control
What are the properties of the adventitia layer?
Connects with the peritoneum providing a covering for the bladder and holds it in place
Ligaments of the bladder
Provide support
Pubourethral (women)
Puboprostatic (men)
What happens if you have deficiency in ligaments?
Bladder sags down as lack of support => incontinence
Location/Position of prostate
Sits beneath bladder surrounding the urethra
Function of the prostate
Secretes prostatic fluid to provide motility to sperm and helps viability
How can the prostate become damaged?
Inflammation -> prostatitis
Enlargement -> BPH (causes compression of urethra + obstruction)
What happens if the bladder undergoes prolonged obstruction? (e.g. from BPH)
- painful
- changes in kidneys and ureters and bladder
- kidney damage can be life threatening
- surgical treatment is an option = prostatectomy (partial or full) (difficult without damaging nerves around urinary sphincter)
Da Vinci Robot
Prostatectomy
First robotic surgery
Precision surgery
Minimizes change of damage
What is the external sphincter?
- ring of muscle
- sits around urethra
- on contraction maintains continence
- via signet ring mechanism kinking urethra (think of a hosepipe)
What does the urethra do?
Carries urine from bladder to outside
What is the length of the urethra?
Women = 3-4cm Men = 20cm
Sections of the urethra?
MALE only
- prostatic
- membranous
- bulbar
- penile
- meatus at the end
What is the trigone?
Area between bladder neck and urethral orifices
