The Japanese Journal of Urology

Show abstractHide abstract

I studied the structure and arrangement of the human kidney muscles by means of the histological research of 60 papille in longitudinal and 15 papille in cross serial sections.
1. The circular muscles of the renal calyx line its whole length (from the fornix to the mouth of the calyx) closely to each other. And among them, the last and strongest muscle bundles are the sphincter calycis. On the anatomical and functional view points, the “M. sphincter fornicis” (Narath) is not a dependent sphincter, but is mere one part of the circular muscles of the calyx.
2. The longitudinal muscles of the renal calyx go on along the renal pyramidis over the fornix. So the “M. levator fornicis” (Narath) is not a dependent muscle starting from the fornix, but is connected with the calyceal longitudinal muscles.
3. Continuously to the calyceal circular muscles, there are also the circular muscles around the pyramidis. Among them, the muscles at the height of the fornix and its neighbouring one correspond to the “M. sphincter papillae” (Henle).
4. Therefore, the theory of Muschat (“M. spiralis papillae”) is not correct, I believe.
5. One part of the circular and longitudinal muscles, which surround the pyramidis, penetrate deeply into the parenchym together with the renal vessels. And the remainder of them go on along the Columna Bertini, and cover the inner surface of the sinus renalis in network. This muscles of the inner surface of the sinus renalis are connected with thin muscles, which cover the outer surface of the kidney.
6. In other words, tunica muscularis of the kidney surface run into the hilus renalis and continuosly cover the inner surface of the sinus renalis. These muscles become densely around the pyramidis, and go down beside the fornix and are connected with the calyceal muscles. So these all muscles are regarded as one “muscle system of the kidney”. They are arranged netlike everywhere.
7. It is interresting, that one part of these muscles are directly connected with also the muscles of the adventitia of the vein. This fact should give various important problems for the physiology and pathology of the kidney.

View full abstract

Download PDF (1191K)

Register with J-STAGE for free!