Detrusor myopathy in young beagle dogs

Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of urinary bladder were examined microscopically from 449 male and female beagle dogs after 2- to 4-week toxicology studies. Degenerative lesions (detrusor myopathy) of the urinary bladder muscular tunic were present in 59 of 449 (13%) dogs. Myopathic lesions consisted of focal to multifocal areas of smooth muscle fiber atrophy with cytoplasmic basophilia and vacuolation, individual cell necrosis, enlarged smooth muscle nuclei and nucleoli, and occasional mitotic figures. Adjacent areas of arteritis and periarteritis were present in 10 of 59 (17%) beagles with detrusor myopathy suggesting a possible ischemic pathogenesis of the smooth muscle lesions. There was no significant difference in prevalence of myopathy in beagles administered vehicle or various test compounds. Prior urinary catheterization procedures appeared to augment the prevalence of myopathy; some lesions were adjacent to minor, iatrogenically traumatized urinary bladder mucosa. Muscle lesions were not observed in urinary bladders from mongrel dogs, monkeys, cats, rats, or microswine. When compared to crossbred dogs and other laboratory species, the beagle dog thus appears to be sensitive to development of detrusor myopathy.