Abstract
Neural activity of lumbar visceral afferents supplying the urinary bladder and urethra was analyzed systematically in the cat. The afferent fibres were isolated either from the white rami L3 and L4 in a preparation with closed peritoneal cavity, or from the lumbar splanchnic nerves in a preparation with open peritoneal cavity and investigated for various functional parameters. Seventy five single units and 9 multiunit bundles were analyzed. 1) About 50% of the afferent units had some ongoing activity (0.2 to 1 imp/s). Two thirds of the afferent axons were thin myelinated (conduction velocity 3–15 m/s), the rest were presumably unmyelinated (conduction velocity below 2 m/s). 2) The receptive fields of the afferent units consisted —with one exception — of single mechanosensitive sites on the surface of the bladder and urethra. Most receptive fields were situated on the dorsal side of the bladder. 3) Afferents with receptive fields on or in the bladder wall responded in a graded manner to passive distension and isovolumetric contraction at intravesical pressures ranging from about 10 to 70 mm Hg. The thresholds for exciting the afferent units ranged from less than 10 mm Hg to about 30 mm Hg intravesical pressure, most of them being less than 20 mm Hg. Generally, the discharge rate of the afferent units gave a reliable representation of the intravesical pressure to the lumbar spinal cord. 4) Urethral units exhibited either no responses to the graded distensions and contractions of the urinary bladder, or responded with low discharge rates at higher intravesical pressures. 5) The results do not support the notion that noxious events in the urinary bladder are encoded by “specific” nociceptive visceral afferents to the lumbar spinal cord but possibly by some other mechanism of encoding.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bahns E, Ernsberger U, Jänig W, Nelke A (1984) Reactions of visceral afferents in the hypogastric nerve to distension and contraction of the urinary bladder. Pflügers Arch 402:38
Bahns E, Ernsberger U, Jänig W, Nelke A (1986) Discharge properties of mechanosensitive afferents supplying the retroperitoneal space. Pflügers Arch 407:519–525
Bahns E, Halsband U, Jänig W (1985) Reaction of visceral afferents in the pelvic nerve to distension and contraction of the urinary bladder in the cat. Neurosci Lett Suppl 22:S86
Baron R, Jänig W, McLachlan EM (1985) The afferent and sympathetic components of the lumbar spinal outflow to the colon and pelvic organs in the cat: I. The hypogastric nerve. J Comp Neurol 238:135–146
Baron R, Jänig W, McLachlan EM (1985) The afferent and sympathetic components of the lumbar spinal outflow to the colon and pelvic organs in the cat: II. The lumbar splanchnic nerves. J Comp Neurol 238:147–157
Baron R, Jänig W, McLachlan EM (1985) The afferent and sympathetic components of the lumbar spinal outflow to the colon and pelvic organs in the cat: III. The colonic nerves, incorporating an analysis of all components of the lumbar prevertebral outflow. J Comp Neurol 238:158–168
Blumberg H, Haupt P, Jänig W, Kohler W (1983) Encoding of visceral noxious stimuli in the discharge patterns of visceral afferent fibres from the colon. Pflügers Arch 398:33–40
Bors E, Ma KT, Parker RB (1956) Observations on some modalities of bladder sensation. J Urol 76:566–575
Cervero F (1982) Afferent activity evoked by natural stimulation of the biliary system in the ferret. Pain 13:137–151
Denny-Brown D, Robertson EG (1933) On the physiology of micturition. Brain 56:149–190
Floyd K, Hick VE, Morrison JFB (1976) Mechanosensitive afferent units in the hypogastric nerve of the cat. J Physiol 259:457–471
Goldscheider A (1920) Das Schmerzproblem. Springer, Berlin
Gunterberg B, Norlén L, Stener B, Sundin T (1975) Neurologic evaluation after resection of the sacrum. Invest Neurol 13:183–188
Haupt P, Jänig W, Kohler W (1983) Response pattern of visceral afferent fibres, supplying colon, upon chemical and mechanical stimuli. Pflügers Arch 398:41–47
Head H, Riddoch G (1917) The automatic bladder, excessive sweating and some other reflex conditions, in gross injuries of the spinal cord. Brain 40:188–263
Iggo A (1955) Tension receptors in the stomach and the urinary bladder. J Physiol 128:593–607
Iggo A (1966) Physiology of visceral afferent systems. Acta Neurovegetativa 28:121–134
Jänig W, Morrison JFB (1986) Functional properties of spinal visceral afferents supplying abdominal and pelvic organs with special emphasis on visceral nociception. In: Cervero F, Morrison JFB (eds) Visceral sensation. Progress in Brain Res 67:87–114
Kuo DC Hisamitsu T, de Groat WC (1984) A sympathetic projection from sacral paravertebral ganglia to the pelvic nerve and to postganglionic nerves on the surface of the urinary bladder and large intestine of the cat. J Comp Neurol 226:76–86
Langley JN, Anderson HK (1895) The innervation of the pelvic and adjoining viscera. Part II. The bladder. J Physiol 19:71–84
Learmonth JR, Glas CM (1931) A contribution to the neurophysiology of the urinary bladder in man. Brain 54:147–176
Malliani A, Lombardi F (1982) Consideration of the fundamental mechanisms eliciting cardiac pain. Am Heart J 103:575–578
Malliani A, Pagani M, Lombardi F (1984) Visceral versus somatic mechanisms. In: Wall PD, Melzack R (eds) Textbook of pain. Churchill-Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp 100–108
McDonald DF, Murphy GP (1959) Quantitative studies of perception of thermal stimuli in the normal and neurogenic urinary bladder. J Appl Physiol 14:204–206
Moore TD (1924) Bladder sensibility. Arch Surg 9:176–187
Morgan C, de Groat WC, Nadelhaft I (1986) The spinal distribution of sympathetic preganglionic and visceral primary afferent neurons that send axons into the hypogastric nerves of the cat. J Comp Neurol 243:23–40
Morrison JFB (1981) Sensory processing in spinal afferent pathways from the bladder. In: Grastyán E, Molnár P (eds) Sensory functions, Adv Physiol Sci, vol 16. Akadémiai Kiado, Budapest: Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 325–333
Mukherjee SR (1957) Effect of bladder distension on arterial blood pressure and renal circulation in acute spinal cats. J Physiol 138:300–306
Müller LR (1908) Über die Empfindungen in unseren inneren Organen. Mitteilungen aus den Grenzgebieten der Medizin und Chirurgie, vol 18:600–641
Murphy JJ, Schoenberg HW (1960) Observations on intravesical pressure changes during micturition. J Urol 84:106–110
Nathan PW (1952) Micturition reflexes in man. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 15:148–149
Nathan PW (1956) Sensations associated with micturition. Br J Urol 28:126–131
Perl ER (1984) Pain and nociception. In: Handbook of physiology, section 1: The nervous system. vol III: Sensory processes Darian-Smith I (ed). American Physiological Society, Bethesda Maryland, pp 915–975
Ray BS, Neill CL (1947) Abdominal visceral sensation in man. Ann Surg 126:709–726
Riddoch G (1921) Conduction of sensory impulses from the bladder by the inferior hypogastrics and the central afferent connections of these nerves. J Physiol 54:CXXXIV
Scott FB, Queseda EM, Cardus D (1984) Studies on the dynamics of micturition: observations on healthy men. J Urol 92:455–463
Watkins AL (1938) Reflex responses of the nictitating membrane and the blood pressure to distension of the bladder and rectum. Am J Physiol 121:32–39
Winter DL (1971) Receptor characteristics and conduction velocities in bladder afferents. J Psychiatr Res 8:225–235
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bahns, E., Ernsberger, U., Jänig, W. et al. Functional characteristics of lumbar visceral afferent fibres from the urinary bladder and the urethra in the cat. Pflugers Arch. 407, 510–518 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657509
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657509