THE MECHANISM OF URINATION

Abstract

The mechanism of urination has not been determined in all its detail, but a large amount of work has been done, and by correlating the work of the anatomist and the physiologist with that of the clinician, the physiology of urination can scarcely longer be regarded as problematic. Enough has been determined to be of great assistance in the diagnosis of diseases of the urinary tract, and to establish definite principles of inestimable practical value in genito-urinary surgery. It must be admitted that many of the unsatisfactory results following operations on the bladder neck and urethra have been due to a disregard for the underlying principles of the physiology of the mechanism of urination. It is the purpose of this paper to present in a correlated form the present status of knowledge of the act of urination, together with some observations which I have carried out on the physiology of