Radiology, Vol 187, 151-155, Copyright © 1993 by Radiological Society of North America
Bladder wall morphology: in vitro MR imaging-histopathologic correlation
Y Narumi, T Kadota, E Inoue, K Kuriyama, T Horinouchi, K Kasai, H Maeda, M Kuroda, T Kotake and S Ishiguro
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Center for Adult Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
To study the morphology of the normal and inflamed bladder wall, the
findings of magnetic resonance imaging and histopathologic examination of
13 in vitro specimens were correlated. Normal bladder wall appeared as a
band of intermediate signal intensity on T1-weighted images and as bands of
low (inner) and intermediate (outer) signal intensity on T2- weighted
images. Inflamed bladder walls demonstrated two additional inner bands of
intermediate (inner) and high (innermost) signal intensity on T1-weighted
images and high (inner) and low (innermost) signal intensity on T2-weighted
images. The mean histopathologic percentages of muscle bundles in inner and
outer bands that appeared on T2-weighted images were 92.5% +/- 4.9 and
78.3% +/- 8.2, respectively. The authors conclude that the total thickness
of the two bands of differing intensity that appeared on the T2-weighted
images of the normal bladder wall correlated well morphometrically with the
muscle layers in the histopathologic specimens, and that the different
signal intensities in the muscle layer represent a compact inner and looser
outer arrangement of smooth muscle bundles.
