Radioautographic observations of a 19-month-old ileal conduit.

The influence of an altered environment of the cellular kinetics and histological appearance of ileal mucosa used as a urinary bladder was investigated in a patient with a conduit of 1 year and 7 months' duration. After injection of 10 mc of 3H-TdR, multiple biopsies were taken spanning a 3-day period. No increase in inflammatory cell numbers was seen and villous atrophy was minimal. A generation time or total cell cycle time of 36 hr was observed, with a G1 phase of 22 hr and an S phase of 11 hr. At 1 hr 2.4 3H-TdR-labeled cells per crypt column and a mitotic index of 1.4% were obtained. The complet labeled mitosis curve obtained on the epithelial cells of the 19-month-old ileal conduit mucosa demonstrated a retention of the kinetics and histological characteristics of normal ileal mucosa, contrary to previously documented findings.