The adult human female urethra. Enzyme-histochemical study.

In the female urethra, the activity and distribution of 15 enzymes was determined by using both conventional and special histochemical methods. The enzymatic equipment differed according to the type of epithelial lining whose variation is characteristic for the female urethra. In the stratified squamous epithelium of the urethra, alkaline phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase, acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, thiamine pyrophosphatase, and glucose-6-phosphatase exhibited but minimal or no activity, yet the other 10 enzymes studied displayed activity particularly in basally situated cells.