A review of the neural control of micturition in dogs and cats: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuroplasticity

Abstract

This article discusses the current knowledge on the role of the neurological structures, especially the cerebellum and the hypothalamus, and compares the information with human medicine. Micturition is a complex voluntary and involuntarily mechanism. Its physiological completion strictly depends on the hierarchical organisation of the central nervous system pathways in the peripheral nervous system. Although the role of the peripheral nervous system and subcortical areas, such as brainstem centres, are well established in veterinary medicine, the role of the cerebellum and hypothalamus have been poorly investigated and understood. Lower urinary tract dysfunction is often associated with neurological diseases that cause neurogenic bladder (NB). The neuroplasticity of the nervous system in the developmental changes of the mechanism of micturition during the prenatal and postnatal periods is also analysed.