Ontogeny of bladder function in the rabbit

Although numerous experimental studies have addressed urinary bladder innervation, physiology and pharmacology, little information is available concerning the ontogeny of bladder function. The present study describes the developmental aspects of bladder mass, bladder capacity, pressure development and emptying in white New Zealand rabbits one day of age through maturity (11 to 15 weeks of age). The following studies were performed: Cystometry, pressure generation, rate of pressure generation, and emptying responses to field stimulation, cholinergic and purinergic stimulation using the in vitro whole bladder model. The results of these studies can be summarized as follows: 1) body weight and bladder weight increased in proportion to each other, bladder capacity increase proportionally with development until eight weeks of age, then increased substantially greater than body and bladder weight between eight and 11 to 15 weeks of age; 2) the ability to empty is similar for all ages; 3) pressure responsiveness to field stimulation, bethanechol, and ATP is greater at one day? of age, intermediate at one week of age, and similar for the other age groups; 4) The response to ATP (purinergic transmitter) is of an equal magnitude to the cholinergic response at one day, and reduces rapidly to approximately 45% of the cholinergic response by four weeks. Desensitization of the bladders to ATP reduced the response to field stimulation in the one day bladders to a significantly greater degree than the other age groups. These functional results indicate a marked alteration in cholinergic and purinergic response between the one day and the four week old rabbit bladders, with the response of the one week old bladders in between. The responses of the four, eight, and 11 to 15 week bladders was similar for equal volumes even though the bladder mass increased over threefold. This indicates that the ability of the bladder to generate pressure (during development) is not directly related to bladder mass.