Transient Supersensitivity in the Partially Denervated Urinary Bladder of the Rat

When examined 6-7 days after the unilateral removal of the pelvic ganglion, the detrusor muscle of the rat was found to be sensitized to methacholine and noradrenaline. The threshold doses were lower while the intravesical pressure responses to doses above threshold were increased. In contrast, bladders examined 25-30 days after the partial denervation lacked signs of sensitization. It is suggested that the contralateral nervous pathway is responsible for the rapid disappearance of the supersensitivity.