[Urinary retention associated with unilateral medullary infarction]

A 59-year-old man without any history of urinary disturbance, admitted to our hospital because of dysarthria and left hemiparesis. Diffusion weighted MR image of the brain of the 2nd hospital day showed left lateral medullary infarction. He also suffered from urinary disturbance which revealed to be the atonic bladder after the urodynamic study. Although the autonomic disturbance, such as Horner syndrome, is a well-known symptom in patients with lateral medullary infarction, few reports mentioned about the prevalence and the extent of urinary disturbance. The obstructive urinary disturbance observed in the present patient was thought to be caused by the unilateral lateral medullary infarction.