The bladder is a round, bag-like organ that stores urine. It is located in the pelvic area, just below the kidneys and right behind the pelvic bone. While it is basically a fleshy storage tank, it is very complex in its design.
The bladder is typically the size of a large grapefruit, according to the Weill Cornell Medical College. It can stretch much larger when needed, though, and shrinks back when it is empty. In fact, it can hold around 16 ounces (almost half a liter) of urine at one time for two to five hours comfortably, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).
It is normal to urinate around six to eight times in a 24-hour period, according to the Cleveland Clinic. More frequent trips to the bathroom may indicate a problem with the bladder, though it is common to urinate more as one ages.
The bladder is connected to the kidneys by two long tubes called ureters. When urine is produced by the kidneys, it travels down the ureters to the bladder, where it is stored. The bladder has four layers.
From the inside out, the epithelium is the first layer on the inside of the bladder. It acts as a lining for the bladder. The lamina propria is the next layer. It consists of connective tissue, muscle and blood vessels. Wrapped around the lamina propria is the layer called the muscularis propria or detrusor muscle. According to John Hopkins Pathology, this layer consists of thick, smooth muscle bundles. The final, outer layer is the perivesical soft tissue, which is made up of fat, fibrous tissue and blood vessels.
The other parts of the bladder are located at the bottom of the sack. An opening at the bottom of the bladder is connected to the urethra. A circular, muscular sphincter pinches tight to keep the opening and the urethra from leaking urine.
When a person urinates, the detrusor muscles contract to squeeze the urine out of the bladder while the sphincter relaxes to open the opening of the bladder and urethra. The opening at the bottom of the bladder empties urine into the urethra, where it then empties from the body.
Many diseases and conditions can originate in the bladder. "The most common bladder problems I see in my practice in women are frequent urges to urinate and leakage of urine," said S. Adam Ramin, urologic surgeon and founder of Urology Cancer Specialists in Los Angeles, California. Leakage and frequent urges often are caused by the decreased capacity of the bladder and overactivity of the bladder. An overactive bladder can be caused by a wide range of conditions, including constipation and excess caffeine in the system, according to the Mayo Clinic. Leakage of urine, or incontinence,can also be caused by bladder spasms or stress. A bladder sling is sometimes used to treat stress urinary incontinence.
"The most common bladder problems in men are frequent urination at nights and incomplete bladder emptying. This is usually due to an enlarged prostate causing obstruction of bladder emptying," Ramin told Live Science.
Bladder infections may be another cause of frequent urination. Bladder infections, also called cystitis, are among the most common bacterial infections, according to Harvard Health. Around one-third of all females get a bladder infection at least once. Some of the symptoms include burning or pain during urination, needing to urinate a lot though only a small amount of urine is passed each time, sudden needs to urinate, lower abdomen pain and cloudy or bloody urine.
Another problem that can originate in the bladder is bladder cancer. About 577,400 people in the United States live with bladder cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. It typically affects older people, though younger people have been known to develop bladder cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. Some symptoms of bladder cancer include blood in the urine, frequent or painful urination and back or pelvic pain.
An anterior prolapse, also called a prolapsed bladder or cystocele, is a bladder problem specific to females. It happens when the tissue between a woman's bladder and vaginal wall weakens due to a strain. The weakening allows the tissue to stretch and the bladder bulges into the vagina, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Bladder stones are caused by concentrated urine that crystalizes in the bladder. Typically, people who have problems emptying their bladder have problems with bladder stones, according to the Mayo Clinic. Though many bladder stones are so small they can barely be seen with the human eye, one man was found to have an egg-shaped bladder stone that weighed 1.7 lbs. (770 grams) and measured 4.7 inches by 3.7 inches by 3 inches (12 by 9.5 by 7.5 centimeters). This isn't the largest bladder stone on record, though. The largest bladder stone was 7 inches long, 5 inches thick and 3.7 inches tall (17.9 by 12.7 by 9.5 cm), and weighed 4.2 lbs. (1.9 kg), according to Guinness World Records.
