renology and urology - wk 4 Flashcards
describe the structure and function of the bladder wall
- Apical membrane with tight junctions
- Tight junctions important wall in cellular signalling
- As bladder fills it stretches and tight junctions send signals to further centres
- Allow control of bladder – voiding
papillary bladder tumour - type of cancer and symptoms
- Papillary bladder tumour – type of urothelial cell cancer (transitional cell cancer)
- Leads to painless visible haematuria (blood in urine)
- Bladder discomfort
- Urgency and frequency to pass urine
what are the 4 layers of the bladder wall
Urothelium
- Multi-layered epithelium
- Apical (umbrella cells)
- Functions – barrier, afferent signalling
Lamina Propria
- ‘functional centre’ coordinating urothelium and detrusor
- Blood vessels, nerve fibres, myofibroblasts
Detrusor muscle stroma
- Smooth muscle arranged in bundles
- Functional syncytium
- Each detrusor cell – 600 microns long by 5 microns
- Stroma – collagen and elastin
- Innervation of muscle – postganglionic parasymp
Adventitia/ Serosa
what are the normal bladder functions - (remember to talk about its function as a barrier)
Compliant reservoir - For urine storage Barrier function (GAG layer, tight junctions) - Passive passage of urea, Na, K - Resists water passage but not truly waterproof - Damage to urothelium – role of disease Volitional Voiding - (muscular function)
describe the bladders function as a compliant urine storage
- Bladder pressure remains constant despite increase in volume
- Bladder is highly compliant
- Visco-elastic properties (elastin/ collagen – detrusor relaxation)
- Without change in tension
how does the bladder respond to filling
Bladder Filling – sensors detect increase in wall tension
- Afferent neurons to dorsal horn of sacral spinal cord
- Sensory/ real time data on bladder state relayed to brainstem and higher centres
- Higher centres control the bladder muscle further
explain why and how volitional micturition/ voiding happens
- Spino-bulbar reflex
- Modulation by pontine micturition centre (Barrington’s nucleus)
- Onuf’s nucleus in intermediolateral S2, 3, 4
Fullness at 250ml – uncomfortable at 500ml (detrusor contractions)
- Coordination of
o Detrusor muscle
o Urethral relaxation
- Relaxation of external urethral sphincter –
o Urine enters posterior urethra
describe higher control of voiding
- Involves prefrontal, hypothalamic, thalamic, cerebellar areas
- Most important is the pons – pontine level
o PMC – pontine micturition centre
o This takes afferent signals from sacral level up signal cord
o Processed by PMC
o Fires down efferent signals back to bladder – sphincter muscles
o Leading to voiding
whats the positive feedback loop involved in micturition
During voiding itself the detrusor muscle is firing a positive feedback loop
- As detrusor muscle contracts
- Wall tension in detrusor muscle rises
- Afferent signals to PMC to be processed
- Efferent signals sent out to increase detrusor contraction
what muscles and nerves are involved in voiding
- Voiding achieved by detrusor muscle contraction and sphincter muscle relaxation
o Via the pelvic nerves, pudendal nerves and Parasympathetic motor nerves
what neurotransmitters are involved in bladder control
Excitatory – cholinergic (Ach)
- Role of nitric oxide in relaxation of bladder neck/ EUS (external urethral sphincter)
Inhibitory - GABA and glycine
- Bladder activity subject to facilitation and inhibition (higher centres and local reflexes)
- Facilitation = contraction of detrusor and relaxation of sphincter when bladder less than full eg anxiety states
- Inhibition = allows postponement of voiding
how do different spinal cord injuries effect bladder control
SPINAL CORD INJURY
- Loss of central inhibition
- Typically, reflex voiding (pelvic parasympathetic nerves)
- Involves pudendal nerves
Suprapontine lesion
- Detrusor overactivity
- Urgency and frequency
Spinal (infrapontine – suprasacral) lesion
- Detrusor overactivity, detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia
- Urgency and dysfunctional voiding
- Difficulty voiding
- Don’t empty bladder to depletion
Sacral/ infrasacral lesion
- Poor intermittent urinary flow
- Hypocontractile or acontractile detrusor (underreactive)
- Urinary incompetence
what’s a normal voiding pattern
- When bladder contains 300mls (and its socially convenient) VOIDING is initiated
- Normal voiding pattern – 300-400mls per void, 4-5 per day (<7) depending on input
- No urgency or incontinence
what does a frequency chart record
- Used to figure out how troubling the patient’s urinary frequency is
- Collected by patient
- Informative
o Frequency
o Functional capacity
o Nocturia - Doesn’t give info on digested fluids by the patient
what does a bladder diary record
(INPUT AND OUTPUT CHART) – the ideal diary chart
- Collected by patient
- 3 consecutive days
- NB – monitors input as well as output
- Type of fluid eg water, caffeine, alcohol noted
- Most informative chart
o Frequency
o Functional capacity
o Nocturia
o Also input diary detects hyperhydration / excessive intake, effects of caffeine, EtOH, diurnal ingestion patterns and binges
o “Wet” (UI) episodes
storage symptoms
Storage symptoms are characterised by an altered bladder sensation
- Urgency
- Frequency
- Nocturia
- UI – urinary incontinence
voiding symptoms
- Hesitancy
- Poor flow
- Intermittency
- Terminal dribbling
what can increase urinary or decrease storage capacity (leading to freqeuncy)
- Polyuria – consider DM/DI, or excess fluid intake
- Decreased bladder capacity – reduced compliance, reduced functional capacity, neurogenic bladder, irritation (bladder stones/ tumour)
define nocturia and explain whos at risk and why
- Normal <2x night
- Ageing bladder, bladder outlet obstruction BOO, decreased compliance, dietary habits
- Effect of ageing – renal conc. Ability decreases with age
- Increased renal blood flow at night (lying down) leads to increased urine production
- Risk of falls and injury
- Patients with ankle oedema (heart problems) renal system reabsorbs fluid at night = nocturia
define nocturnal polyuria
- Production of more than 1/3rd of 24-hour urine output between midnight and 8am
what are the 2 general causes of poor flow, hesitancy and dribbling
- Decreased force of micturition usually secondary to bladder output destruction (BOO, urethral stricture) – aka ‘plumbing problem”
- May also occur with underactive/ hypocontractile bladder (eg SC injury) – aka ‘pump problem’
define hesitancy, intermittency, post-void dribbling and straining
- Hesitancy – delay in start of micturition
- Intermittency – involuntary start-stop; prostatic enlargement
- post-void dribbling ¬– release of small amount of urine after micturition
o due to release of urine retained in bulbar/ prostatic urethra - Straining – use of abdominal muscles to void (Valsalva only normally required at end of voiding)
define incontinence
‘involuntary loss of urine that is a social or hygienic problem and is objectively demonstrable’
what are the 2 types of incontinence and give a brief description
Urge incontinence (UUI) - Involuntary loss of urine associated with strong desire to void (detrusor contraction) Stress incontinence (SUI) - Involuntary loss of urine when intra-abdominal pressure rises without detrusor contraction eg with coughing, sneezing, laughing straining, exerting