[Changes in bladder contractility in spinal cord diseases]

Changes in bladder contractility were studied by repeated cystomanometry in 147 patients suffering from central medullary lesions of sudden onset, including 93 cases of spinal shock. The morphology of contraction was always modified in the same fashion though intermediate stages were apparent, some being quite characteristic of neurological dysfunction. This process, which ends in a phasic contraction reproduces the stages of ontogenesis. When contractions are present, but do not produce complete bladder emptying, spontaneous improvement is unlikely in the presence of a complete lesion; sphincterotomy should therefore be considered at an early stage.