Activation and inhibition of the micturition reflex by penile afferents in the cat

摘要

reciprocal coordination of the urinary bladder and the external urethral sphincter (EUS) to maintain continence and produce micturition is controlled by the pontine micturition center (2, 3, 24). The spinobulbospinal micturition reflex is also subject to modulation by peripheral afferent activity (29, 30) that can influence voiding efficiency (41). The objective of the present study was to quantify the effects of genital afferents traveling in the penile component of the somatic pudendal nerve on the micturition reflex in the cat.Activation of pudendal afferent nerve fibers can engage spinal (5) and spinobulbospinal (2, 3) reflexes that are integral to the regulation of bladder function. Fluid flow through the urethra activates pudendal afferents (56), and this flow-driven activation can elicit detrusor contractions and facilitate micturition (2, 44, 48).