bladder

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The bladder is a storage vessel for urine and is lined by a special waterproof skin called transitional cell epithelium. There is a similar lining in the ureters (the tubes from each kidney to the bladder) and urethra (the tube from the bladder to the outside). The bladder is enveloped in a criss-cross of muscle fibres, the detrusor muscle. As the bladder fills, these muscle fibres relax in such a way that the pressure within the bladder remains constant at less than 10 cm of water. The normal adult bladder holds approximately 400 ml of urine and when more than this amount has entered the bladder the pressure starts to rise and the desire to void urine is felt. If this cannot be conveniently done and bladder filling continues the feeling becomes very urgent and eventually uncontrollable. Normally, adults are able to hold on after the first feeling of urgency, but children find this more difficult and in babies the bladder empties automatically. The nerves controlling the bladder belong to the autonomic nervous system and, although such nerves usually function automatically, the bladder is a special situation where voluntary control is superimposed on autonomic. Babies have to learn to control the automatic bladder (potty training) and this is usually achieved by the age of 5 years but may take longer, particularly in boys, and also in some families. Failure to override fully the autonomic nerves to the bladder results in urinary frequency and the need to void urine at night, or bedwetting (enuresis). Most children eventually become dry at night but if problems continue beyond the normal age when potty training should be complete then it is important to exclude other problems such as urinary tract infections.

In adults there are two main causes of incontinence: either weakness of the pelvic floor and sphincter muscles (which act normally to prevent passage of urine into the urethra) or over-activity of the detrusor muscle, so that the bladder behaves rather like that of a baby (this latter problem is called instability). Difficulties in controlling the bladder can also occur in older age, and the number of elderly people with continence problems is a major burden on social services. In this group of people it is important to exclude other causes of incontinence such as cancer, infection, or stones in the bladder. With proper medical, nursing, and physiotherapy measures, many elderly people with problems of incontinence can be helped.

— Tim Hargreave

See urogenital system. See also autonomic nervous system; incontinence; kidney; potty training; urine.

A stretchable saclike structure in the body that holds fluids. The term is used most often to refer to the urinary bladder, which is part of the excretory system. Another kind of bladder is the gallbladder.

noun
noun, mainly US

A newspaper, esp. a poor one. (1936 —) .
Observer The news of your return has caused hardly a ripple in the daily bladders (1973).

[Cf. blat noun.]

Previous:	black velvet, black tar, black bomber
Next:	bladdered, blag, blah

A membranous sac serving as a receptacle. See also gallbladder, urinary bladder.

• b. meridian points — acupuncture points on the bladder meridian.

For a list of words related to bladder, see:

• Digestive and Excretory System - bladder: urinary bladder

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See words rhyming with "bladder."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Bladder.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - blære, urinblære

idioms:

• bladder stone    nyresten

Nederlands (Dutch)
blaas, opgeblazen/hol iets blaasontsteking

Français (French)
n. - (Anat) vessie, (Bot) vésicule, vessie de ballon (football)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Blase

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κύστη (κν. φούσκα), σαμπρέλα μπάλας

idioms:

• bladder stone    πέτρα στην ουροδόχο κύστη

Italiano (Italian)
vescica

idioms:

• bladder stone    calcolo urinario
• inflammation of the bladder    cistite
• urinary bladder    vescica urinaria

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bexiga (f), vesícula (f) (Anat.) (Zool.) (Bot.) (Patol.)

idioms:

• bladder stone    cálculo (m) biliar (Med.)
• inflammation of the bladder    inflamação (f) da bexiga ou vesícula (Med.)
• urinary bladder    bexiga (f) urinária (Med.)

Русский (Russian)
пузырь

idioms:

• bladder stone    камень в мочевом пузыре
• inflammation of the bladder    воспаление мочевого пузыря
• urinary bladder    мочевой пузырь

Español (Spanish)
n. - vejiga

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - blåsa, urinblåsa

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
膀胱, 胀大的果皮, 水生植物的气囊, 囊状物

idioms:

• bladder stone    膀胱结石

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 膀胱, 脹大的果皮, 水生植物的氣囊, 囊狀物

idioms:

• bladder stone    膀胱結石

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주머니 모양의 조직, 방광, 물집

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 膀胱, 浮き袋, 火ぶくれ, ふくらんだもの

idioms:

• bladder stone    膀胱結石

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المثانه, نفاخه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שלפוחית השתן, שלפוחית‬

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