ABSTRACT
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 176 Urinary Bladder .............................................................................................. 176 Urothelium ...................................................................................................... 177 Lamina Propria ............................................................................................... 177 Detrusor and Serosal Layers ......................................................................... 177 Pathological Conditions of the Urinary Bladder Requiring Repair and Reconstruction ........................................................................................ 178
Current Approaches in Bladder Repair ........................................................... 179 Use of Autologous Tissues in Cystoplasty ................................................. 179 Free Tissue Graft ............................................................................................. 181 Muscle Flap as Bladder Wall Substitute ...................................................... 181 Human Amniotic Membrane ....................................................................... 181
Decellularized Matrices ...................................................................................... 182 Small Intestinal Submucosa .......................................................................... 182 Bladder Acellular Matrix ............................................................................... 183
Current Research in Bladder Tissue Engineering ........................................... 184 Clinical Success of Bladder Tissue Engineering......................................... 184
In Vitro Cell Studies of Cell-Biomaterial Interactions .................................... 186 Bladder Cell Interactions with Synthetic Polymers .................................. 186 Bladder Cell Interactions with SIS ............................................................... 188 Application of Nanotechnology to Bladder Tissue Engineering ............. 188 Effects of Mechanical Force Stimuli on Bladder Tissue Engineering ...... 189
In Vivo Animal Studies in Bladder Tissue Engineering ................................. 190 Application of SIS in Tissue Engineering ................................................... 190 Silk Fibroin Scaffold ....................................................................................... 191 Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) .......................................................................... 191 Hydrogel-Based Scaffolds ............................................................................. 192 Polyethylene Glycol ....................................................................................... 192 Collagen ........................................................................................................... 193
Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 195 References ............................................................................................................. 195
Urinary Bladder
The urinary bladder is a hollow, distensible musculomembranous sac that lies in the pelvic cavity just posterior to the symphysis pubis (Gray and Howden 1916; Seeley, Stephens, and Tate 2000). It functions as a short-term reservoir for the urine produced by the kidneys. Under normal conditions, the human bladder has a capacity to store approximately 500 mL of urine, although a progressive sensation of fullness and a desire to void are experienced when the volume reaches around 300 mL. As it €lls, the bladder expands up to 15 times its contracted size assuming an ovoid shape. During voluntary micturition, smooth muscle of the bladder contracts while sphincter muscles of the urethra relax to allow releasing of the content.
