Does it matter, the shape of the bladder?
To determine if the pressure-volume curve of the urinary bladder is dependent on its shape, we compared the pressure-volume curves of spherical, prolate spheroidal, and oblate spheroidal bladders, all made of the same material. We found that oblate spheroidal bladders are significantly more compliant than either spherical or prolate spheroidal bladders. Since the capacity of normal oblate spheroidal bladders is not larger in vivo than those of any other shape bladder, we have concluded that bladder fullness can not be determined by transmural bladder pressure alone.
Damaser
M S
MS
Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Lehman
S L
SL
D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D008954:Models, Biological; D011312:Pressure; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*