Blood supply to the bladder during filling

Amongst other features of bladder physiology, the mechanics of cyclic filli ng and emptying make the blood supply of the bladder unique with respect to other organs of the body. Blood vessels are required to lengthen and short en, whilst maintaining sufficient perfusion of the smooth muscle. Interrupt ion of the blood supply may result in ischaemia and, ultimately reperfusion , resulting in bladder pathologies. The blood flow is also likely to be aff ected by factors such as increased intra-abdominal pressure. In this articl e, several features of the blood supply to the bladder - and also the ureth ra - are discussed.