Summary
Dorschner et al [5–9] have described the unique function and form of several different muscle systems of the urinary bladder neck. If these systems have different functional responsibilities, then the muscles must undergo different ageing processes, as stated in the theory of function-dependent ageing. One characteristic of histologic ageing is the change over time in the proportion of muscle cells to connective tissue, a phenomenon we have demonstrated in both the ciliary muscle and in the two muscle systems of the small intestine [20]. Using an SIS-Image Analysing System, we have now measured automatically the ratios of muscle cells to connective tissue in sections from several regions of the urinary bladder neck, taken from 50 male and 15 female cadavers. Our results confirm new functional explanations of the different muscle systems in the bladder neck. The relative volume of muscle cells in both the sphincter trigonalis m. and the dilator urethrae m. diminishes continuously with age. In the ejaculatorius m., however, the volume of muscle cells first increases until beginning at the end of the third decade, it decreases until senescence. As was presumed, the proportion of muscle cells in the detrusor vesicae m. does not decline during the later decades. The volume of muscle cells and fibers in both urethral sphincter muscles, however, decreases with age, beginning in early childhood.
Résumé
Dorschner et al [5–9] ont décrit la fonction et la configuration de plusieurs groupes musculaires distincts au niveau du col vésical. Si les systèmes musculaires ont des responsabilités fonctionnelles propres, les muscles doivent subir différents processus de vieillissement, comme l'affirme la théorie du vieillissement fonctionnellement-dépendant. Un trait du vieillissement histologique est le changement avec le temps de la proportion des cellules musculaires par rapport au tissu conjonctif, un phénomène que nous avons démontré à la fois dans le m. ciliaire et dans les deux systèmes musculaires de l'intestin grèle [20]. Utilisant un système d'analyse d'images (SAS), nous avons mesuré dans ce travail les proportions de tissu cellulaire conjonctif et musculaire sur des coupes à plusieurs niveaux du col vésical, à partir de 50 cadavres masculins et 15 féminins. Nos résultats confirment les nouvelles théories d'ordre fonctionnel concernant les différents groupes musculaires du col vésical. Le volume des cellules musculaires dans le “m. sphincter du trigone” et dans le “m. dilatateur de l'urètre” dimimue de façon constante avec l'âge. Dans le “m. éjaculateur”, cependant, le volume des cellules musculaires augmente tout d'abord, puis au début de la troisième décade, diminue jusquà la vieillesse. Comme celà était prévisible, la participation des cellules musculaires dans la musculeuse de la vessie ne diminue pas pendant de nombreuses décades. Le volume des cellules et des fibres musculaires, toutefois diminue avec l'âge, en commençant dès l'enfance.
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Rother, P., Löffler, S., Dorschner, W. et al. Anatomic basis of micturition and urinary continence. Surg Radiol Anat 18, 173–177 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02346123
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02346123