A new rabbit model of disused bladder was developed. The mucosa was dissected from some of the disused sides. Tissue elasticity and the weight of the detrusor muscle were decreased by bladder disuse. The responsiveness to field stimulation, bethanechol, ATP, KCl, or isoproterenol, was decreased by disuse. Tissue elasticity and responsiveness to stimuli were decreased to a lesser extent in disused tissue with intact mucosa.
Results suggest that the bladder mucosa helps to preserve the function of the disused bladder.