Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Holding Urine for a Prolonged Period of Time and Acute Urinary Retension

Acute urine retention is a common condition affecting most of the elder males. There are several etiological factors for acute retention of urine. Holding urine for a prolonged period of time is one such etiology. How does holding urine for a long period of time cause acute urinary retention.

This can be explained by the LaPlace Law. When you hold urine for a long time, urine accumulate slowly and the bladder volume slowly increases. Finally, the bladder gets over-distended.  When the detrusor muscles are overstretched, they cannot contract. As a result, the bladder cannot empty itself by contracting. This process finally results in acute urinary retention.

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