Noradrenaline content in canine lower urinary tract tissue.

To examine the distribution of sympathetic nerve fibers in the lower urinary tract, the noradrenaline content was measured in the urinary bladder dome and base, and proximal and distal urethra of the male and female dogs, using high pressure liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED). The noradrenaline content was the highest in the proximal urethra and the lowest in the urinary bladder dome in both sexes. The noradrenaline content of the proximal urethra was significantly higher in the male than in the female, whereas the content of the urinary bladder base and the distal urethra was lower in the male than in the female. These data suggest that sympathetic innervation is the richest in the proximal urethra in the lower urinary tract and that there is a sex difference in the sympathetic innervation in the lower urinary tract.