Definition

Noun: A medical condition characterized by a urinary bladder that is unable to contract properly to expel urine. This results from damage to the nerves that control bladder function, leading to a loss of sensation, overfilling, and an inability to urinate voluntarily.

Usage

The term "flaccid bladder" is used specifically in medical contexts to describe a type of neurogenic bladder dysfunction. - It is a clinical diagnosis. - It describes the state of the bladder muscle (detrusor) being limp and underactive.

Examples

• The patient's spinal cord injury resulted in a flaccid bladder.
• Management of a flaccid bladder often requires scheduled catheterization.
• A key symptom of a flaccid bladder is the inability to feel when the bladder is full.

Advanced Usage

• The condition is often contrasted with a "spastic bladder" (or hyperreflexic bladder), where the bladder contracts involuntarily.
• Flaccid bladder is a component of "lower motor neuron lesion" syndromes affecting the sacral spinal cord or peripheral nerves.

Variants and Related Words

• Atonic Bladder: A synonym often used interchangeably with flaccid bladder, emphasizing the lack of muscle tone.
• Neurogenic Bladder: A broader term for any bladder dysfunction caused by neurological damage, which includes both flaccid and spastic types.
• Detrusor Areflexia: The formal urodynamic term for the absence of detrusor (bladder muscle) contractions.

Synonyms

• Atonic bladder
• Underactive bladder (in a specific neurogenic context)
• Detrusor areflexia

Antonyms

• Spastic bladder
• Hyperreflexic bladder
• Overactive bladder (in a neurogenic context)

Related Phrases

• Bladder retention: A common consequence of a flaccid bladder, where urine is retained and cannot be expelled.
• Intermittent catheterization: The primary management technique for emptying a flaccid bladder.

Noun

1. a urinary bladder disorder resulting from interruption of the reflex arc normally associated with voiding urine; absence of bladder sensation and over-filling of the bladder and inability to urinate voluntarily