A test for bladder neck competence: the fluid bridge test.

The momentary entry of urine into the proximal urethra during coughing can be demonstrated by a new test which can be conducted using apparatus now commonly available for urodynamic investigations. If the bladder neck opens, a fluid bridge is established between points of pressure measurement in the bladder and in the proximal urethra. Thus, the pressures at these two points momentarily become equal. The clinical value and relevance to physiology may not become clear for some time, but the relatively simple apparatus and procedure, and the ease with which the results can be translated into physical facts, provide important advantages over other dynamic tests of the urethra which are currently possible.