title: Urethane anesthesia in acute lower urinary tract studies in the male rat.
abstract: Urethane is a widely used anesthetic in animal lower urinary tract research. Our objective was to investigate the quality of anesthesia and the correlation between bladder (voiding) contractions, micturition pressure, bladder capacity and urethane dosage and body weight. Urethane was given subcutaneously and/or intraperitoneally (1.0-1.2 g/kg). The bladder was filled with saline and the bladder pressure was recorded continuously. Animals in which the subcutaneous/intraperitoneal ratio was higher needed less urethane. Heavier animals needed less extra urethane. In animals, in which no bladder contractions could be evoked, the total amount of urethane given was similar to that in those that did show contractions. In the animals that did void, the bladder never emptied completely and residual volumes remained. There was no relationship between animal weight or total amount of urethane and mean capacity. Anesthesia lasted up till 14 h, during which bladder (voiding) contractions could be recorded. Considering all results, we conclude that urethane is a well suited anesthetic for acute lower urinary tract physiological research in the intact rat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Sector Furore, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Asselt
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Sector Furore, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mahipal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choudhary
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Sector Furore, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clavica
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Sector Furore, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Mastrigt
mesh_terms: D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014520:Urethane / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000187:drug effects*; D014554:Urination
chemical_list: D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D014520:Urethane
keywords: anesthesia; rat; urethane; urinary bladder