title: Cardiovascular and intravesical pressure responses during natural micturition in conscious rats.
abstract: Urinary bladder distension is known to influence the cardiovascular system under a pathophysiological condition such as spinal cord injury, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis. A reflex due to bladder distension and/or contraction is considered as one reason for the cardiovascular disturbance associated with micturition. However, it has remained unknown how much intravesical pressure (IVP) rises during micturition in daily life and to what extent mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) respond at that time. To answer these questions, we attempted to examine the direct changes in IVP, MAP, and HR during natural micturition in freely moving conscious rats. IVP increased from the baseline value of 4 +/- 0.2 mmHg to 14 +/- 0.5 mmHg during natural micturition. Although MAP and HR began to increase before micturition, the increases in MAP and HR became significant 1-4 s before its onset. The peak increases in MAP and HR (7 +/- 0.8 mmHg and 14 +/- 3 beats/min, respectively) were delayed by 2 s from the peak IVP. Following an administration of xylocaine into the urinary bladder, the increases in MAP and HR during micturition were significantly blunted to 5 +/- 2 mmHg and 8 +/- 3 beats/min, although IVP increased the same as it did during micturition without xylocaine. Moreover, the relationship between IVP and MAP or HR during natural micturition resembled that between IVP and the vesico-cardiovascular reflex responses during isovolumic bladder contraction in anesthetized rats. Therefore it is concluded that natural micturition in freely moving conscious rats accompanies the significant cardiovascular responses despite a limited increase in intravesical pressure, to which a reflex from the urinary bladder may substantially contribute.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan.
authors.forename: Mutsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kanji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsukawa
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: Ishio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ninomiya
mesh_terms: D000283:Administration, Intravesical; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014554:Urination / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D008012:Lidocaine