Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAnatomy and LocationFunctionAssociated ConditionsDiagnosisPrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Anatomy and Location
Function
Associated Conditions
Diagnosis
Prevention
The bladder is a hollow organ located in the lower abdomen whose main function is to store urine until it is passed out of the body when you pee (urinate).
As urine is produced, it moves from each of your twokidneysinto your bladder via a set of tubes calledureters. The bladder’s flexible walls stretch to hold urine and, when full, contract to expel urine through another tube known as theurethra.
This article explains everything you need to know about the location, structure, and function of the bladder. It also describes conditions that can adversely affect the bladder and things you can do to keep your bladder healthy.
Anatomy and Location of the Bladder
The bladder is a triangle-shaped, hollow organ that is part of theurinary system. The organ is made up of the apex (top of the bladder), body (middle of the bladder),fundus(base of the bladder), and neck (a pathway that connects to the urethra).
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Parts of the Bladder
The bladder is a flexible organ made up of smooth (involuntary) muscles. Crisscrossing bands of smooth muscle form thedetrusor muscle, the primary muscle of the bladder.
Urine enters the apex of the bladder via twouretersdescending from the kidneys. Urine leaves the bladder via theurethrawhich opens at the tip of thepenisin males and the area beneath theclitorisin females.
Bladder Location in ChildrenIn children, the bladder is located in the abdomen and does not completely descend into the lower abdomen and pelvis until puberty.
Bladder Location in Children
In children, the bladder is located in the abdomen and does not completely descend into the lower abdomen and pelvis until puberty.
What Does the Bladder Do?
Once urine enters the bladder via the ureters, it is held in reserve until it needs to be released. As the bladder is full, sensory nerves in the walls of the bladder send signals to the brain, triggering tiny contractions of the detrusor muscle. These contractions serve as “red flags” that it is time to pee.
Thereafter, the relaxation of the (voluntary) external sphincter sends nerve signals to the brain, telling it to simultaneously relax the (involuntary) internal sphincter and compress the detrusor muscle to push urine out of the bladder.
Infants and young children release urine on reflex but learn to control the external sphincter and hold their urine longer during potty training.
How Much Pee Can a Bladder Hold?When full, the bladder can hold up to 500 milliliters (2 cups) of urine in adult females and up to 700 milliliters (3 cups) of in adult males. Depending on the rate of fluid intake, bladder size, age, and other factors, the bladder needs to be released every two to five hours.
How Much Pee Can a Bladder Hold?
When full, the bladder can hold up to 500 milliliters (2 cups) of urine in adult females and up to 700 milliliters (3 cups) of in adult males. Depending on the rate of fluid intake, bladder size, age, and other factors, the bladder needs to be released every two to five hours.
Conditions That Affect the Bladder
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The bladder is vulnerable to injury as well as infections, most often arising from alower urinary tract infection (UTI). There are also conditions that can affect how the bladder works, as well asneoplasms(abnormal growths) that may be benign (non-cancerous) and malignant (cancerous).
Many of these conditions can cause bladder pain or pressure. These are mainly felt in the lower abdomen but can often extend to the lower back and urethra. In females, the pain or pressure may also be felt in the vulva or vagina.
Some of the conditions commonly affecting the bladder include:
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Diagnosing Bladder Problems
There are a number of tests that can give you and your healthcare provider insights into your bladder health. The most common tests and procedures include:
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Preventing Bladder Disorders
You can’t avoid every bladder problem, but there are things you can do to keep your bladder healthy whether you’ve been diagnosed with a bladder condition or not.
Here are five healthy bladder tips that can help:
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Summary
Many conditions can adversely affect the bladder, including cystitis, overactive bladder, neurogenic bladder, urinary incontinence, and bladder cancer.
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10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015 Aug;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012Oregon State Universithy.25.8 Urine transport and elimination.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Anatomy of the urinary system.John Hopkins Health.Diagnosis and screening of urologic conditions.MedlinePlus.Cystitis.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Cystocele.Jung J, Kim A, Yang SH.The innovative approach in functional bladder disorders: the communication between bladder and brain-gut axis,Int Neurourol J.2023 Mar;27(1):15–22. doi:10.5213/inj.2346036.018Reynolds WS, Fowkes J, Dmochowsi R.The burden of overactive bladder on US public health.Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep. 2016 Mar;11(1):8–13. doi:10.1007/s11884-016-0344-9National Cancer Institute.What is bladder cancer?National Institute on Aging.15 tips to keep your bladder healthy.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015 Aug;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012Oregon State Universithy.25.8 Urine transport and elimination.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Anatomy of the urinary system.John Hopkins Health.Diagnosis and screening of urologic conditions.MedlinePlus.Cystitis.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Cystocele.Jung J, Kim A, Yang SH.The innovative approach in functional bladder disorders: the communication between bladder and brain-gut axis,Int Neurourol J.2023 Mar;27(1):15–22. doi:10.5213/inj.2346036.018Reynolds WS, Fowkes J, Dmochowsi R.The burden of overactive bladder on US public health.Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep. 2016 Mar;11(1):8–13. doi:10.1007/s11884-016-0344-9National Cancer Institute.What is bladder cancer?National Institute on Aging.15 tips to keep your bladder healthy.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015 Aug;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012Oregon State Universithy.25.8 Urine transport and elimination.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Anatomy of the urinary system.John Hopkins Health.Diagnosis and screening of urologic conditions.MedlinePlus.Cystitis.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Cystocele.Jung J, Kim A, Yang SH.The innovative approach in functional bladder disorders: the communication between bladder and brain-gut axis,Int Neurourol J.2023 Mar;27(1):15–22. doi:10.5213/inj.2346036.018Reynolds WS, Fowkes J, Dmochowsi R.The burden of overactive bladder on US public health.Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep. 2016 Mar;11(1):8–13. doi:10.1007/s11884-016-0344-9National Cancer Institute.What is bladder cancer?National Institute on Aging.15 tips to keep your bladder healthy.
Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015 Aug;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012
Oregon State Universithy.25.8 Urine transport and elimination.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Anatomy of the urinary system.
John Hopkins Health.Diagnosis and screening of urologic conditions.
MedlinePlus.Cystitis.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Cystocele.
Jung J, Kim A, Yang SH.The innovative approach in functional bladder disorders: the communication between bladder and brain-gut axis,Int Neurourol J.2023 Mar;27(1):15–22. doi:10.5213/inj.2346036.018
Reynolds WS, Fowkes J, Dmochowsi R.The burden of overactive bladder on US public health.Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep. 2016 Mar;11(1):8–13. doi:10.1007/s11884-016-0344-9
National Cancer Institute.What is bladder cancer?
National Institute on Aging.15 tips to keep your bladder healthy.
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