AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 256, Issue 6 1269-R1273, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society
Efferent pelvic nerve activity, ganglionic filtering, and the feline bladder
P. Satchell and C. Vaughan
Gordon Craig Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Sydney, Australia.
Ganglionic "filtering" may be responsible for muting the parasympathetic
drive to the bladder during urine storage. For this process to be
significant, there must be activity in preganglionic parasympathetic nerve
fibers during continence. In cats, anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium,
pelvic efferent nerve activity was recorded while the bladder was filled at
a physiological rate. In one-half of the animals, there was no nerve
activity during continence. Pelvic efferent nerve activity was observed in
some animals, particularly in those with larger nonmicturating
contractions. In these animals, multiple recordings from different sites in
the pelvic plexus failed to provide evidence of ganglionic filtering.
Ganglionic modulation of the excitatory motor drive to the bladder could
not be observed during the continence process.
