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Review
. 2020 Sep 16;33(4):345-349.
doi: 10.4103/tcmj.tcmj_153_20. eCollection 2021 Oct-Dec.

Ultrastructural changes in the underactive bladder

Han-Chen Ho  1 , Yung-Hsiang Hsu  2 , Jia-Fong Jhang  3 , Yuan-Hong Jiang  3 , Hann-Chorng Kuo  3
Affiliations
Review

Ultrastructural changes in the underactive bladder

Han-Chen Ho et al. Tzu Chi Med J. .

Abstract

Underactive bladder (UAB) is a symptom complex suggestive of detrusor underactivity (DU). Although it implies a primary dysfunction of the detrusor muscle, many other conditions such as advanced age, neurogenic factors, and bladder outlet obstruction also lead to UAB. The current understanding of the pathophysiology directly leading to UAB is limited. We believe that by identifying the morphological changes associated with UAB might shed light on this. Therefore, we searched literature with keywords of electron microscopy, ultrastructure, UAB, and DU to review current ultrastructural evidence concerning UAB.

Keywords: Detrusor underactivity; Electron microscopy; Ultrastructure; Underactive bladder.

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Conflict of interest statement

Prof. Han-Chen Ho, Dr. Yung-Hsiang Hsu, Dr. Yuan-Hong Jiang and Hann-Chorng Kuo, the editorial board members at Tzu Chi Medical Journal, had no roles in the peer review process of or decision to publish this article. The other author declared no conflicts of interest in writing this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Normeal detrusor muscle (DM) lies beneath the lamina propria (LP) and forming several muscle fascicles, separated by perimysium (arrow)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Higher magnification of detrusor smooth muscle cells at (a) cross section and (b) longitudinal section. Smooth and intact sarcolemma of individual cell and evenly distributed dense bodies are shown. The endomysium (arrowhead) surrounding each individual cell is much thinner than the perimysium (arrow) surrounding muscle fascicles
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Unmyelinated peripheral nerves (arrow) found in the lamina propria. (b) At higher magnification, lighter stained nerve terminals (*) are seen wrapped around the darker stained Schwann cell (S)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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