Passive Properties of the Smooth Muscle of the Pig Ureter

It has been shown that there are large variations in the velocity of the front end of a urine bolus travelling down the ureter (Durben and Gerlach 1979). Since the velocity of this front end may be influenced by passive viscoelastic properties of the ureteral wall (Griffiths and Notschaele 1983), it should be possible to detect variations in these viscoelastic properties along the entire ureter. The purpose of this study was to investigate this hypothesis and also to obtain objective data on the viscoelasticity of the ureter. The variation in viscoelastic parameters along the entire ureter was measured. The isotropy of the ureter was investigated by comparing transverse and longitudinal sections, and the influence of metabolism on the viscoelasticity was evaluated.