Histomorphology of trabeculated urinary bladder – A cadaveric report

Abstract

IntroductionTrabeculation of urinary bladder is a common complication of benign prostatic hyperplasia, a predominant cause of bladder outlet obstruction in elderly males. The musculature of the urinary bladder, known as the detrusor urinae muscle, is hypertrophied so as to overcome the bladder outlet obstruction giving rise to trabeculated appearance of the urinary bladder. MethodsIn the present case study, trabeculation of the urinary bladder was observed in one of the cadavers, an elderly male aged 79 years, during routine dissection of pelvis by the students in the department of anatomy. Small pieces of the bladder were excised from its walls. Seven μm thick paraffin sections were stained with Masson's trichrome stain and examined under light microscope. ResultsThe urinary bladder was big in size weighing 240 g. Well developed large trabeculae were seen criss-crossing the walls of the bladder on its inner surface. Smooth muscle hypertrophy and abundant deposition of collagen fibres between smooth muscle fibres were the main histological features. Stained sections of the median lobe of prostate gland showed large prostatic follicles with epithelial hyperplasia and inflamed fibrous stroma suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia. DiscussionBenign prostatic hyperplasia commonly affects elderly men above 50 years of age presenting with symptoms of bladder outlet obstruction. In the present case study, we report the histological findings of the trabeculated urinary bladder observed in an elderly male cadaver during routine dissection.