The male urethra : its diseases and reflexes / by Fessenden N. Otis.

Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The male urethra : its diseases and reflexes / by Fessenden N. Otis. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    21/102 (page 11)
    THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE OF THE URETHRA. This is continuous with that of the ureters and bladder, and in the prostatic portion presents the same variety of epithelium (stratified transitional of Beale). The superficial layer is composed of large flat cells or scales of polygonal form, while in the underlying layer the cells are smaller and club-shaped and underlying these cells are seen still smaller and spindle-shaped. In the membranous portion the epithelium is also of the stratified variety, while in the remaining portion of the canal it is of the cylindrical or columnar variety to within a short distance of the meatus urinarius, when again it is of the stratified kind. All these varieties differ widely in form influenced by the stage of their development and depth at which they are detached, rendering exact determination of the locality of their origin (through microscopic examinations of urinary and urethral secretions) often difficult and not infre- quently impossible. The secretion which lubricates the mucus mem- brane of the urethra is formed from fluid contents exuded from the epithelial cells in process of their development. Note.—See examination of ioo cases of supposed normal urethra, cited on page 210 et seq., also pages 228 and 229. Otis on Stricture, Putnam’s Sons, New York.