Miction parameters

As our bladder fills, stretch receptors in the bladder wall register the gradual increase in pressure and send corresponding signals to the brain. Through the tension of the arbitrary, external bladder sphincter, the emptying of the bladder can be suppressed for the time being. Its ability to function forms the basis for continence, as it closes the urethra. Only when we relax this external bladder sphincter arbitrarily, the micturition can begin. Then the bladder muscle, a muscle that is part of the bladder wall and completely surrounds the bladder, also tenses reflectively. This allows the bladder to be emptied to the end and completely. By additionally tensing the abdominal muscles, the pressure in the abdomen can be increased, press on the bladder and thereby accelerate micturition. The miction is usually painless and can be controlled intentionally.

The control of the bladder closing muscle and thus over the miction are usually developed by children between the 2. and 3. year of life. Older children and adults can usually consciously control this process and thus delay going to the toilet or give in to the urge to urinate and empty the bladder. At a certain point in the filling of the bladder, however, urination can no longer be controlled and works reflexively. How intensely the pressure of the bladder is experienced is individual.

The number of mictions is also referred to as the miction frequency. It depends, among other things, on the individual capacity of the bladder and the amount of fluid absorbed. It increases with age.

The reasons for miction changes are manifold. They can be flammable, mechanical, neurogenic or psychogenic.

Miction parameters can be distinguished as follows:

• Delivery characteristics
• Urine quantity
• Frequency of urinating
• Urine color
• Urine odour