Theory of hydrokinetic clearance of bacteria from the urinary bladder. I. Effect of variations in bacterial growth rate.

If the bladder is regularly emptied in appropriate circumstances the concentration of bacteria in successively voided samples progressively falls. By making a number of assumptions about conditions of bacterial growth in the bladder the way in which this washout of bacteria will occur can be predicted. Such predictions give a form of washout curve which differs significantly from that commonly encountered in patients. The shape of the predicted washout curve is affected by the form of the bacterial growth curve but this influence is not sufficient to account for the observed difference between patients and predictions.