[Female urinary stress incontinence: analysis of pathophysiological hypothesis]

Urinary incontinence is defined by the International Continence Society as an involuntary loss of urine that's enough to cause a social or hygiene concern. The current study is a literature review focused on the pathophysiological hypothesis for stress urinary incontinence.

Review of the literature on PubMed Medline. Keywords used: urinary incontinence, stress, pathophysiology, intrinsic sphincteric deficiency, urethra, muscle, pelvic floor.

The pathophysiology of urinary incontinence during stress is complex, involving passive mechanisms such as urethral hypermobility, intrinsic sphincteric deficiency or abnormal urethral compliance and active mechanisms, such as voluntary or reflex contraction of periurethral and pelvic muscles.

Further studies should assess the correlation between the reversal of identified factors underlying the incontinence and the reversal of complaint symptoms and urinary leakage quantification.