Bladder wall tension and mechanoreceptor discharge

Bladder wall mechanoreceptors are essential elements in micturition and continence reflexes. While they have been described as tension receptors, their response to bladder wall deformation has always been characterised in terms of pressure. The firing patterns of 10 bladder wall mechanoreceptors were determined during bladder distensions at a natural and a much faster rate. In all units firing rate was higher at any given pressure at the slower bladder distension rate. This inverse rate dependence was reduced when firing rate was related to a derived measure of bladder wall tension and abolished when multi-fibre recordings were used. We conclude that it is important to incorporate volume effects in studies of continence control systems.