On the muscular arrangements of the bladder and prostate, and the manner in which the ureters and urethra are closed / by James Bell Pettigrew.

Date:
1867
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the muscular arrangements of the bladder and prostate, and the manner in which the ureters and urethra are closed / by James Bell Pettigrew. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    These fibres are eccentric to the deep circular fibres surrounding the canal of the urethra, and contain the glandular substance in a kind of network. 6, and lastly. The capsule, composed of fibrous tissue, which serves at once for a covering for the gland and a tendon of insertion for some of the fibres of the bladder. The prostate, according to Sabatier, consists almost exclusively of circular fibres, but the gland, in his opinion, is not a continuation of the bladder, although some of the fibres of the bladder terminate in it. He difiers from Ellis and Hodgson in describing two sets of circular fibres; the one belonging to the urethra, the other to the prostate proper. In this he is followed by Henle *, who figures the two sets of circular fibres referred to, and indicates (towards the apex of the gland) the presence of striated or voluntary muscular fibres. Leucehart f describes a true rudimentary prostate in the female, which consists principally of mucous follicles, and is situated between the beginning of the urethra and the reflexion of the vagina J. From what has been stated, it will be evident that the arrangement of the fibres in the prostate, and their precise relations to those of the urethra and bladder, is by no means well ascertained. It will further appear that those who have described the fibres of the bladder as running in all directions have not attempted to trace their courses or localize them; while those who have done the latter have given a very im- perfect account of the direction of the fibres forming the layers they have enumerated. In conclusion, no attempt has been made to reconcile the statements of Sabatier and Henle with those of Ellis and Hodgson, or the descriptions of Lieutaud and Sabatier with those of Duverney, Lauth, Huschke, and Cruveilhier—the former describing structures remarkable for their complexity, the latter for their extreme simplicity. The difficulties experienced in unravelling and tracing the fibres of the bladder and prostate sufficiently account for the discrepancies. With a view to simplifying the arrangement, I have in the present instance distended the bladder and urethra with liquid plaster of Paris, this substance preserving the soft contour of the viscus, and, when set, enabling me to dissect even individual fibres with a surprising degree of precision ^. In many instances I have hardened the bladders so prepared in alcohol, bisected them in various directions, and removed the plaster, so as to render them * Handbuch der Rystematisclien Anatomie des Menschen, von Dr. J. Henle, 1866. t Vide article on Webek's Organ, inlllustr. Med. Zeitnng, 1, 2. $ YiECHO-sv also admits the existence of the rudimentarj' prostate in females, and says that he has often found at the neck of the bladder, especially in old women when the internal orifice is thickened, round greyish- yellow enlargements, in which there are gradually formed firm dark-coloured bodies lying imbedded in the raucous membrane. These bodies he considers identical mth, or analogous to, the concretions found in the prostatic portion of the urethra (Virchow's Archives, vol. iii. 1853). § In order to obtain a dark background, against which to contrast the direction of the fibres, I added ultra- marine blue to the plaster before mixing it with water. The deep colour shines through the semi-transparent walls, and causes the fibres to stand out in relief. The plaster sets in a very few minutes and keeps perfectly in epirit.