Infection of the Bladder

The bladder is connected to the kidneys by two tubes called ureters that carry urine into the bladder, where it is stored until you pass it into the outside world through a single tube called a urethra. An overactive bladder is a condition that results from sudden, involuntary contraction of the musclein the wall of the urinary bladder. Overactive bladder is also referred to as urge incontinence and is a form of urinary incontinence (unintentional loss of urine). An infection of the bladder is one of the more frequent sites of infections in humans.

A frequent cause of infection of the bladder is insufficient urine production, for instance in hot weather. If this cleaning mechanism of the bladder is interrupted, for example because of loss of water in the form of sweat, the bacteria will not be flushed out of the bladder often enough and will get time to multiply. The examination is important to get information about the condition the bladder is in (which is important for the prediction of the outcome of an operation of the prostate) and to find the cause in cases of incontinence. In men, because the bladder is located near the prostate, the doctor will insert a finger in the male?s rectum to feel the bladder, while in women, the examination is performed through the vagina because the bladder is located in the womb. The more common cause of death related to the urinary tract is now sepsis (a blood stream infection resulting from a symptomatic infection in the urinary tract) rather than kidney failure.