Editing Functional: Neural Control of Storage and Voiding (section)

=== Bladder ===
* '''Layers:'''
** '''Urothelium'''
*** ≈7 cells thick
*** '''Functions of the urothelium (4):'''
***# '''Relatively impermeable barrier (primary role)''' to protect the underlying stroma of the bladder
***#* Uroplakin and TJ proteins play key parts in urothelial barrier function
***# '''Sentinel defense against uropathogenic bacterial infections'''
***#* Uroplakins have also been shown to act as the primary attachment site of type 1 piliated uropathogenic E. Coli.
***# '''Afferent signaling;''' urothelial cells can release and respond to neurotransmitters
***#* Myofibroblasts mediate interaction between urothelial cells and afferent nerves
***# '''Modulation of detrusor smooth muscle contractility'''
*** '''The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer may have importance in bacterial anti-adherence, but''' '''there is no definite evidence that the GAG layer serves an impermeability function'''
** '''Lamina propria'''
*** Contains a diffuse plexus of unmyelinated nerve fibers, interstitial cells (myofibroblasts) and microvasculature
** '''Detrusor'''
*** In the bladder body, myofibrils are arranged into fascicles (bundles) in random directions
*** It is unlikely that every smooth muscle cell receives direct synaptic contact; the presence of '''gap junctions allows excitation to propagate throughout the smooth muscle''' syncytium
*** '''Detrusor smooth muscle has afferent innervation''' that could mediate afferent signals related to smooth muscle activity
*** '''The detrusor contractile ability rapidly declines''' if it is deprived of oxygen or a metabolic substrate, as would occur '''in ischemia'''