Changes in rat bladder function following exposure to pain and water stimuli.

Abstract

Changes in rat bladder function following the exposure to physical stress were studied in vitro. Rats were divided into two stress groups and two control groups and maintained for 6 months under specific conditions. The stress groups, consisting of animals subjected to water or pain stress and control groups were kept in cages floored with wooden chips or wire net. The body weight of the stressed groups was significantly lower than that of the controls. Gastric ulcer occurred in none of the groups. The detrusor response of the water group to acetylcholine was significantly greater than that of the two control groups. In the pain group, the contractile response was induced by norepinephrine. In the other three groups, however, norepinephrine evoked a relaxation of muscle strips. The contractile response of the bladder to both serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and ATP (adenosine 5'-triphosphate) did not differ between the four groups.