New method of measuring uroflow in the rat bladder

The invention of the modern uroflowmeter by Willard M. Drake, Jr at Jefferson Medical College

The uroflowmeter is perhaps the most important and certainly the most commonly used urodynamic instrument currently employed in urologic practice. The modern uroflowmeter was invented by Willard M. Drake, Jr., in 1946 at the Jefferson Medical College. The original manuscript, entitled "The uroflometer: an aid to the study of the lower urinary tract," appeared in Journal of Urology in 1948. Drake obtained a US patent for the device, entitled "Uroflometer," in 1953. The flowmeter, originally manufactured by van Beek Industries, was more recently manufactured and distributed by Grewe Plastics. Drake is now retired and living in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Micturition patterns after spinal trauma as a measure of autonomic functional recovery

The purpose of these experiments was to determine whether experimental spinal trauma would result in urological dysfunction similar to that seen clinically and whether recovery of normal micturition can be correlated with motor functional recovery. A standard rat model of spinal impact trauma was employed. Neurologic evaluation included a modified 7 point hindlimb Tarlov scale applied weekly for 4 weeks after injury. Micturition measurement was accomplished by placing the animal in a metabolic cage for 24-hour periods and collecting urine on an electronic scale connected to Lotus Measure data acquisition software. All assessments were performed in a blinded fashion. Animals were categorized as normal control (N = 10), sham injured (N = 11), spinal cord injury (SCI) without (N = 11) and with locomotor recovery (N = 11). There were no differences in total micturition volume among the 4 groups, while the number of micturitions per 24 hours was significantly less for SCI without locomotor recovery (10.4 +/- 5.9) than for control (21.3 +/- 4.5). The volume per micturition was significantly greater for SCI (2.0 +/- 0.7 ml.) than for control (0.8 +/- 0.2 ml.). There were no differences among groups in the ratio of number of micturitions night/day. The SCI group had significantly greater largest and smallest micturitional volumes. Results clearly show alterations in micturition patterns induced by SCI. These were proportional to, but did not correlate fully with, the severity of injury and degree of motor recovery. Thus, recovery of a normal micturition pattern did not occur to the same extent as did motor functional recovery. This difference underscores the potential value of autonomic measures of SCI for distinguishing outcome categories after experimental SCI.