THE BLADDER. 



795 



rectum, and some of the generative organs peculiar to each sex : they are par- 

 tially covered by the peritoneum, and supplied with blood and lymphatic vessels 

 and nerves. 



THE BLADDER. 



The Bladder is the reservoir for the urine. It is a musculo-membranous sac, 

 situated in the pelvis, behind the pubes, and in front of the rectum in the male, 

 the uterus and vagina intervening between it and that intestine in the female. 

 The shape, position, and relations of the bladder are greatly influenced by age, 

 sex, and the degree of distension of the organ. During infancy, it is conical in 

 shape, and projects above the upper border of the pubes into the hypogastric 

 region. In the adult, when quite empty and contracted, it is a small triangular 



Fig. 436. Vertical Section of Bladder, Penis, and Urethra. 



sac, placed deeply in the pelvis, flattened from before backwards, its apex reaching 

 as high as the upper border of the symphysis pubis. When slightly distended, 

 it has a rounded form, and partially fills the pelvic cavity; and when greatly 

 distended, it is ovoid in shape, rising into the abdominal cavity, and often ex- 

 tending nearly as high as the umbilicus. It is larger in its vertical diameter 

 than from side to side, and its long axis is directed from above obliquely down- 

 wards and backwards, in a line directed from some point between the pubes 

 and umbilicus (according to its distension) to the end of the coccyx. The 

 bladder, when distended, is slightly curved forwards towards the anterior wall 

 of the abdomen, so as to be more convex behind than in front. In the female, 

 it is larger in the transverse than in the vertical diameter, and its capacity is 

 said to be greater than in the male. When moderately distended, it measures 

 about five inches in length, and three inches across, and the ordinary amount 

 which it contains is about a pint. 



The bladder is divided into a summit, body, base, and neck. 



The summit, or apex, of the bladder is rounded and directed forwards and 

 upwards; it is connected to the umbilicus by a fibro-muscular cord, the uraclms, 



