bladder
Meaning of bladder: The bladder is a muscular, expandable organ that stores urine between the kidneys and the urethra until it is released from the body.
Definition of bladder
The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ located in the pelvis that stores urine produced by the kidneys until it is released from the body through the urethra. Its wall can stretch considerably to accommodate a varying volume of urine and contracts during urination to empty.
Urine reaches the bladder continuously through two tubes called ureters, one from each kidney, and is held there by a ring of muscle at the bladder outlet that relaxes during urination to allow the bladder to empty. The bladder's capacity, the sensation of fullness, and the ability to control the timing of urination depend on coordinated activity between the bladder muscle, the nerves that supply it, and the muscles at the bladder outlet.
The bladder can be affected by infection, inflammation, structural problems, and tumors, among other conditions, many of which are evaluated using imaging, urine testing, or direct visualization of the bladder interior.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Ultrasound imaging showed a moderately distended bladder prior to catheter placement.
Good to know
Bladder fullness and the urge to urinate are separate from the muscles that actually control emptying, so a problem affecting either the sensory or the muscular side can produce different patterns of urinary symptoms.