Bladder: What it looks like and how it works

1. What is the bladder?
2. What makes up the bladder?
3. How the bladder works

Dear Friend,

In this article, I would like to give you a closer look at what the bladder looks like and how it works.

Don’t worry. It won’t be boring anatomy or medical lesson. I’ll explain enough for one simple reason: learning to know yourself better will help you take care of yourself!

By the end of this read, I promise you will have the information you need to understand the importance of this organ!

If, however, you need specific information, don’t hesitate to contact me right away.

Let’s work on ourselves now so we’re better tomorrow. ❤️

Ready?
We know ourselves!

What is the bladder?

Let’s go back for a moment as children, when we were taught to understand and recognize the various parts of the body.
We would concentrate hard and enthusiastically repeat those difficult names, perhaps accompanied by a song, a nursery rhyme and a treat for the effort put in.

Do you remember?

Here, now I’m asking you to put in that “hunger for knowledge” that used to brighten our days as little girls and make us feel older and more confident: real young ladies. 😘

Let’s get started!

The urinary bladder is an unequal musculomembranous hollow organ.
Oh my God. Big words. Simple as that. What are you saying?

Think of your bladder as your personal reservoir, your urine container that looks like a triangular sphere, with the base at the top and the tip true to the bottom.

Second, it looks like a diamond. It also makes the idea of its preciousness better. 💎
What do you think?

The bladder changes according to certain conditions and factors; its shape and size vary according to gender, filling status and age:

• Sex
  The bladder is in the anterior region of the pelvis, resting on the pelvic floor.
  In women, this organ appears more flattened and wider, because it is above the peritoneum (the large sac that lines the inside of the abdominal cavity and protects the organs), in front of the vagina, and the uterus (the organ of the female reproductive system). While in men, the bladder is above the prostate (the gland of the male genital apparatus) and in front of the rectum.
• Filling status
  In the empty bladder, its cavity is reduced to a slit, but the bladder walls gradually stretch when you begin to collect urine. The bladder thus assumes a globular or spherical shape.
  A diamond for me!
  
• Age
  In the newborn baby, the bladder is thinner and more elongated; however, its size depends on how much urine it can hold: the average adult can hold up to 300-400 milliliters (about two glasses of water).

Take a break!

Let’s breathe, give our minds time to store the information and think of a little treat to treat ourselves to at the end of the article. 😄

Shall we resume?
Let’s go a little deeper!

What makes up the bladder?

Of course, we can’t know everything here. I’ll write the main elements you might need!

The bladder consists of the reservoir that collects urine and the bladder neck.

The bladder neck is usually the lowest part of the bladder (it connects and continues into the urethra); in women it takes on a circular shape, while in men it resembles a half-moon.
It is formed by the so-called sphincter, a circular muscle that regulates opening when we need to urinate and closes when we don’t.🧐

Now I understand!

The bladder mucosa, which is pinkish-yellow in color under normal conditions, covers the inner surface of the bladder. Its characteristics can be studied through a particular technique of investigation, cystoscopy: direct observation of the mucosa done by a particular optical instrument. This cystoscope is introduced into the bladder.

Super interesting!

The bladder wall can reach a thickness of 1.5 cm when empty, while it reduces to about 0.3 cm in the filled state. The mucous tonaca, which is relatively smooth, makes it up from the inside out.

You look fantastic! You’ll be able to brag that you know all this, just like when you were a kid!🙋

How the bladder works

Let’s keep getting to know ourselves!

As mentioned at the beginning, the bladder is our urine reservoir.

This deposit contains the urine that is released to the outside world through the urethra (the channel that allows the emptying of the bladder) and through the act of urination.

The process of urination (peeing) begins with the gradual filling of the bladder accompanied by an increase in tension of the walls until we reach that moment of urination reflex. We empty ourselves of urine, making us feel that pleasant feeling of lightness. 🤭

The bladder has a very stretchable wall, so much so that under pathological conditions, it can dilate without rupturing to contain 2-3 liters more urine (it normally contains an average of 0.4 liters).
Wow!

Therefore, the bladder has the task of collecting the urine produced and filtered by the kidneys (this passage occurs through the ureters). As with the tank on our car, this is a temporary fill. The organ fills up between urinations and empties when we feel the urge to make us free from the accumulated urine.

High five dear: we’re done. 💪
I hope this information can help you get to know yourself better!

I always recommend that if you notice that you have any bladder issues, that you see your doctor investigate the cause!
While we’re here, I invite you also to read this article on urinary incontinence.

Even if we are grown up, never lose that desire to know: it makes us even more alive. ❤️

If you have questions, write to me!

Thank you so much, and a virtual hug!