The influence of vesical distension on urethral resistance to flow: the collecting phase

Summary Using female dogs, changes in the urethral pressure profile in response to vesical distension were studied. It was noted that during the collecting phase there was an increase in the amplitude of the profile tracing. These experiments revealed that this increase is not mediated through an autonomic reflex and does not reflect a significant enhancement of a-adrenergic activity. These changes are mainly due to increased tension of the urethral muscle, secondly to detrusor stretch.