[Urinary continence in the female--a morphologic study].

Physiological studies which can be traced back into the last century have produced a large number of theories on continence and micturition. A literature review may cause some doubts on the clinical applicability of these theories. Not considering the disagreement on the morphology of the lower urinary tract, many questions like the functional interpretation of morphological findings remain unanswered. A renewed morphological study of the urinary bladder neck and its adjacent structures in males and females were done. The histological examination of 30,000 serial sections have revealed a widely different morphological structure in comparison with the literature. Additional muscular systems were identified, new defined and their possible function was discussed.