TY - JOUR
T1 - Histology of the canine urethra. I. Morphometry of the female urethra
AU - Cullen, W. Craig
AU - Fletcher, Thomas F
AU - Bradley, William E.
PY - 1981/2
Y1 - 1981/2
N2 - Urinary bladders and urethrae were collected from six adult and two juvenile female dogs. Five urethral regions and the neck and body of the bladder were sampled. Volume fractions for connective tissue including elastic fibers, smooth and striated muscle, and epithelium were obtained by projecting section images onto an array of points and computing the number of points overlying a tissue constituent per total points overlying the tissue section. Smooth muscle occupied approximately half the volume of the bladder wall, one‐third the volume of the vesical neck, and one‐fourth the volume of the proximal urethra. Striated muscle was present in the distal half of the urethra, where the total muscle coat occupied about one‐third of the urethral wall volume. Smooth muscle was practically absent in the terminal urethra, where the striated urethralis muscle encircles urethra and vagina in common. Epithelial area and lumen perimeter were not significantly different along the length of the urethra except that urethral epithelium was significantly thicker adjacent to the vesical neck. In terms of histological proportions, the vesical neck was intermediate between the body of the bladder and the proximal urethra.
AB - Urinary bladders and urethrae were collected from six adult and two juvenile female dogs. Five urethral regions and the neck and body of the bladder were sampled. Volume fractions for connective tissue including elastic fibers, smooth and striated muscle, and epithelium were obtained by projecting section images onto an array of points and computing the number of points overlying a tissue constituent per total points overlying the tissue section. Smooth muscle occupied approximately half the volume of the bladder wall, one‐third the volume of the vesical neck, and one‐fourth the volume of the proximal urethra. Striated muscle was present in the distal half of the urethra, where the total muscle coat occupied about one‐third of the urethral wall volume. Smooth muscle was practically absent in the terminal urethra, where the striated urethralis muscle encircles urethra and vagina in common. Epithelial area and lumen perimeter were not significantly different along the length of the urethra except that urethral epithelium was significantly thicker adjacent to the vesical neck. In terms of histological proportions, the vesical neck was intermediate between the body of the bladder and the proximal urethra.
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U2 - 10.1002/ar.1091990203
DO - 10.1002/ar.1091990203
M3 - Article
C2 - 7193987
AN - SCOPUS:0019444904
SN - 0003-276X
VL - 199
SP - 177
EP - 186
JO - The Anatomical Record
JF - The Anatomical Record
IS - 2
ER -