SPARC: A Multiscale Analysis of the Structure of the Rat Lower Urinary Tract (LUT) and Connectivity of Sensory and Autonomic Nerve Terminals

Abstract

Storage and voiding of urine are normally precisely controlled to occur only in appropriate physiological and behavioral contexts. Neural control is provided by the projecting terminals of extrinsic sensory, autonomic and somatomotor neurons, interfacing with a spinal cord‐brain network that coordinates lower urinary tract activity with patterned activity of other pelvic organs (e.g. colon), somatic structures (e.g. pelvic floor, hind‐limbs). Multiple anatomical and functional classes of peripheral nerves project to the LUT but it has not yet been determined how the microscopic connectivity and circuit organisation of this neural interface control basic organ functions. Our aim was to addres..