Papers of the Week

While it is well known that the sensory arm of the micturition reflex is mediated by A-δ afferents in the pelvic nerve, the urinary bladder is also innervated by afferents in the hypogastric nerve (HGN), whose role in micturition is less well understood. We have recently determined that stimulation of HGN afferents can facilitate nociceptive bladder activity in the cat induced by intravesical instillation of acetic acid. The aim of the present study, then, was to determine if activation of HGN afferents could similarly facilitate normal bladder activity in the cat, evoked by saline distension. Additional experiments examined if HGN stimulation could modulate the inhibitory effects of tibial or pudendal neuromodulation on bladder capacity.