Summary
Scanning electron microscopy was used on the mucosa of the rat urinary bladder after digestion with strong alkali and microdissection. The underside of the epithelium (and the plane of the epithelium-tunica propria interface) is not smooth but is scored by grooves-10 μm wide and 3–4 μm deep—connected into a fine mesh. A net of blood capillaries located in the uppermost part of the tunica propria occupies these grooves. They measure 3–9 μm in diameter, are separated from the epithelium by a gap of 0.3 μm, often show fenestrations, and are accompanied by numerous and extensive pericytes and by some fibroblasts. We discuss these observations in the light of current knowledge of blood flow in the bladder, contraction and distension of the bladder wall and formation of mucosal folds, transport of solutes through the epithelium, and plasma extravasation from mucosal blood vessels in neurogenic inflammation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahám A (1930) Blutgefäße im Epithel der Harnblase des Kaninchens. Z Zellforsch 9:694–696
Amon H, Sancak B (1967) Vergleichende morphologische Untersuchungen über die subepithelialen Bindegewebslagen der Harnblase. Anat Anz 121:349–358
Anderson TS (1951) Techniques for preservation of three-dimensional structure in preparing specimens for electron microscopy. Trans NY Acad Sci 13:130–134
Andersson P-O, Bloom SR, Mattiasson A, Uvelius B (1985) Changes in vascular resistance in the feline urinary bladder in response to bladder filling. J Urol 134:1041–1046
Dunn M (1975) A study of the bladder blood flow during distension in rabbits. Br J Urol 47:67–74
Fellows GJ, Marshall DH (1972) The permeability of human bladder epithelium to water and sodium. Inv Urol 9:339–344
Finkbeiner A, Lapides J (1974) Effect of distension on blood flow in dog's urinary bladder. Inv Urol 12:210–212
Gosling JA, Dixon JS (1974) Sensory nerves in the mammalian urinary tract. An evaluation using light and electron microscopy. J Anat 117:133–144
Hicks RM (1966) The permeability of rat urinary transitional epithelium. J Cell Biol 28:21–31
Hicks RM (1975) The mammalian urinary bladder: an accommodating organ. Biol Rev Cambridge Philosophic Soc 50:215–246
Kerr WK, Barkin M, D'Aloisio J, Menczyk Z (1963) Observations on the movement of ions and water across the wall of the human bladder and ureter. J Urol 89:812–819
Koltzenburg M, McMahon SB (1986) Plasma extravasation in the rat urinary bladder following mechanical, electrical and chemical stimuli: evidence for a new population of chemosensitive primary sensory afferents. Neurosci Lett 72:352–356
Leeson CR (1962) Histology, histochemistry and electron microscopy of the transitional epithelium of the rat urinary bladder in response to induced physiological changes. Acta Anat 48:297–315
Lentz TL (1971) Pericyte. In: Lentz TL (ed) Cell fine structure. WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia, pp 116–117
McMahon SB, Abel C (1987) A model for the study of visceral pain states: chronic inflammation of the chronic decerebrate rat urinary bladder by irritant chemicals. Pain 28:109–127
Miller BG, Woods RI, Bohlen HG, Evan AP (1982) A new morphological procedure for viewing microvessels: A scanning electron microscopic study of the vasculature of small intestine. Anat Rec 203:293–503
Möllendorff W von (1930) Der Exkretionsapparat. V. Die Harnblase. In: von Möllendorff W (ed) Handbuch der mikroskopischen Anatomie des Menschen. VII Harn- und Geschlechts-apparat. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 292–307
Monis B, Zambrano D (1968) Transitional epithelium of urinary tract in normal and dehydrated rats. Z Zellforsch 85:165–182
Murakami T (1974) A revised tannin-osmium method for noncoated scanning electron microscope speciments. Arch Histol Jpn 36:189–193
Nemeth CJ, Kahn RM, Kirchner P, Adams R (1977) Changes in canine bladder perfusion with distension. Inv Urol 15:149–150
Noack W, Jacobson M, Schweichel JU, Jayyousi A (1975) The superficial cells of the transitional epithelium in the expanded rat urinary bladder. Acta Anat 93:171–183
Reisco JM, Carretero J, Blanco E, Carbajo S, Sánchez F, Vázquez R (1989) Three dimensional study of the rat urinary bladder in states of contraction and distension. Anat Anz 168:245–253
Takahashi-Iwanaga H, Fujita T (1986) Application of an NaOH maceration method to a scanning electron microscopic observation of Ito cells in the rat liver. Arch Histol Jpn 49:349–357
Tatematsu M, Cohen SM, Fukushima S, Shirai T, Shinohara Y, Ito N (1978) Neovascularization in benign and malignant urinary nary bladder epithelial proliverative lesions of the rat observed in sity by scanning electron microscopy and autoradiography. Cancer Res 38:1792–1800
Walker BE (1960) Electron microscopic observations on transitional epithelium of the mouse urinary bladder. J Ultrastruct Res 3:345–361
Wong YC, Martin BF (1977) A study by scanning electron microscopy of the bladder epithelium of the guinea pig. Am J Anat 150:237–246
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Inoue, T., Gabella, G. A vascular network closely linked to the epithelium of the urinary bladder of the rat. Cell Tissue Res 263, 137–143 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318409
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318409