Studies on sensory threshold of different parts of the lower urinary tract measured electrically

In 450 patients, sensory thresholds of bladder wall and of different parts of the urethra were determined with constant-current stimulation. These thresholds were compared with those of the skin of the forearm in the same patients. In both sexes, threshold of the bladder was higher than that of the urethra. Threshold of the female urethra did not differ much from skin threshold. In the male patients, the threshold of the prostatic urethra was higher than that of the penile urethra; the latter did not significantly differ from the skin threshold. In female patients, thresholds were usually lower than the corresponding thresholds in males. These data on exteroception give additional information on the sensory innervation of the different parts of the lower urinary tract.