Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Urinary Bladder Distention Evoked Visceromotor Responses as a Model for Bladder Pain in Mice
Published on: April 27, 2014
Increase in presumptive sensory nerves of the urinary bladder in idiopathic detrusor instability
K H Moore1, S A Gilpin, J S Dixon
1Gynaecological Urodynamic Unit, University of Liverpool.
Abstract:
The density of subepithelial, presumptive sensory nerves in the bladder wall was assessed in 21 women with idiopathic detrusor instability and compared with the density of these nerves in 21 asymptomatic women, using a point-counting technique on sections of bladder biopsies stained for acetylcholinesterase activity. The mean value (+/- S.E.) for the amount of such nerves in patients with detrusor instability (91 +/- 13/mm2) was significantly greater than that from the control group (61 +/- 7/mm2). This suggests that a relative abundance of subepithelial sensory nerves may serve to increase the appreciation of bladder filling, giving rise to the frequency and urgency of micturition which are characteristic of patients with detrusor instability.
Related Concept Videos
Urinary Bladder
In males, the bladder is situated in front of the rectum, while in females, it is positioned anterior to the vagina and uterus. The bladder floor contains an inverted triangular area called the trigone, defined by the two ureteric...
The Micturition Reflex
The process begins with bladder filling, where the bladder wall stretches as urine accumulates. This stretching activates the urine storage reflex, mediated by the sacral spinal segments and the pontine storage center. Efferent sympathetic impulses stimulate the detrusor muscle to relax and the internal urethral sphincter to contract, facilitating urine...
Disorders of the Urinary System
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common urinary system disorders. They are caused by bacteria that enter the urethra and can spread to the bladder resulting in cystitis. Pyelonephritis is the result of a UTI that has ascended to the level of the...
Anatomy of the Genitourinary System II: Bladder and Urethra
Nursing Assessment of the Genitourinary System II: Inspection and Palpation
Urinary Tract Calculi II: Pathophysiology and Clinical Manifestations

