THE URIXARY BLADDER. 



419 



THE URIKARY BLADDER. 



The urinarij bladder (vesica urinaria) is a hollow membranous and 

 muscuhxr receptacle, which receives the m'ine poured into it through the 

 ureters, retains it for a longer or shorter period, and finally expels it 

 through the urethra. 



During infancy it is pyriform, and lies chiefly in the abdomen, but 

 in the adult it is situated in the pelvic cavity behind the pubes, and in 

 the male, in front of the rectum ; in the female, it is separated from 

 the rectum by the uterus and vagina. 



Fig. 304. 



Fig. 304. — Lateral View uf the Vi^ceiia of the ]\[ale Pelvis (E. Qiiain). ^ 



Tlie left OS ilium lias been disarticulated from the sacrum, the spinous process of the 

 ischium cut through, and the puhes divided to the left of the sjTiiphysis ; a, the bladder ; 

 b, b', the rectum ; c, membranous part of the urethra ; d, section of the left crus or 

 corpus cavernosum ; e, bulb of the siiongy body of the urethra ; /, Cowper's gland ; f/, 

 section of the body of the pubes ; /(, sphincter aui muscle ; ■>', part of the left vas 

 deferens ; m, articular surface of the sacrum ; n, divided spine of the ischium ; o, 

 coccjTc ; p, prostate gland ; r, r, iieritoneum ; r', recto-vesical pouch ; it, left ureter ; v, 

 left vesicula seminalis. 



The size and shape of the bladder, its position in the abdomino-pelvic 

 cavity, and its relations to surrounding parts, vary greatly, according 

 to its state of distension or collapse. When empty, the bladder lies 

 deeply in the pelvis, and in a vertical antero- posterior section pre- 

 sents a triangular appearance, being flattened before and behind, having 

 its base turned downwards and backwards, whilst its apex reaches up 

 behind the symphysis pubis. The surfaces named anterior and pos- 

 terior have thus a considerable inclination. When moderately full, it 

 is still contained within the pelvic cavity, and has a rounded form (fig. 

 304, a), . but when completely distended, it rises above the brim of the 

 pelvis, and becomes egg-shaped ; its larger end, which is called the 

 base or i/iferior fundus, being directed towards the rectum in the male 



