HISTOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE URETHRA IN THE WOMAN, ESPECIALLY ON ITS FOLD AND PARA-URETHRAL DUCT

Abstract

Purpose of the study.
In the urethra of the woman occurs unendurable pains of unknown origin, such as urodynia and feeling of strangury. In an attempt to solve the problems, the structure of the tissue is found to be so complicated that a considerable amount of the pains might be originated from the anatomical and histological structure. That is, the short urethra in the woman shows a variety in its strusture according to localization, especially having a number of so-called para-urethral ducts or folds in its anterior portion: this state is rather more complicated than that of the man. The present study is performed to clarify these unanswered problems.
Method
The total urethra was removed from cafuistic corpse of adolescent and adult women taking care of not hurting the original form, embedded into paraffin and sectioned in three directions. 1. Transverse section, 2. Sagittial section, 3. Horizontal section. After many kinds of stainings were applied to these sections, details of the histological structure of the urethra in the woman were observed together with the informations of mucous epithelium of the urethral cavity, the fold formation, and the number, direction and morphology of the para-urethral ducts.
Results
1) Morphology of the urethral cavity and its variation. The urethra in the woman is comparatively broad. Usually it is in contracted condition, forming natural folds. Only at micturition it becomes nearly cylindrical,
a.. The cavity appears longitudinal or polylongitudinal around the opening, but changes to be transverse at the posterior portion.
b.. Near the part of 1-1.5cm away from the opening there are polymorphic contracted fold formations; of mushroomshape or crab-shape.
c.. Near the part of 2-2.5cm away the cavity takes a shape of butterfly in many cases.
d.. Near the part of 2.5-3cm away it becomes like an upperly prominent semilune or a straight line.
e.. At the inner part than 3cm away it is of an irregular form with a little larger interspace, becoming so-called neck of the urinary bladder and reaches the bladder. At the same time, according to the examination of the horizontal section, it is found that the urethra is broad at the lower wall and prominent at the upper part.
2) Para-urethral duct
a.. Around the opening there are so-called Skene's duct and similar ducts. Many case offer a number of large and small ducts at the margins of th external lip with the depression of mucous membrane. Near the part of 0.5cm away from the opening there exhibit also many ducts.
b.. Near the part of 1-1.5cm away, the urethra takes shapes of irregularly transverse form, and deep fold formation like a crab or several butterflies. Surrounding this contricted urethra, large and small duct cavities occur at least more than ten, usually more than thirty. If all of them, adding small branches at the end are altogether calculated, the number may be several decades or countless.
c.. Near the part of 2cm away, the urethra becomes in most cases of a butterfly-shape, consequently having a deep fold formation, while the duct number decreases suddenly into a few or even undetectable in some cases.
d.. Near the part of 2.5-3cm away, the urethra becomes semilunar or of upperly prominent straight line. Most cases contain a few ducts, which occur especially at right and left sides of the urethra in usual cases.
e.. At the part of more than 3.5cm away, as the urethra approaches to the inner meatus urinarius and the urinary bladder, so the urethral cavity exhibits an enlargement or lenticular form.
The ducts are few or not visible in some cases.
3) The fold formation in the urethra.
There is the fold formation in the urethra. The most remarkable and deepest localization appears near the part of 1-1.5cm or 2cm away from the opening: the contracted part of the irregular petal-shape, the parts of the crab-shape and butterfly-shape; the both sides of the straight line part at middl