Lax Uterosacral Ligament and Urge Urinary Incontinence: MRI Findings in Symptomatic Patients Versus Healthy Volunteers.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The objective was to explore the association between urge urinary incontinence (UUI) and lax uterosacral ligaments (USL) using MRI.

Methods: Sixty-seven female participants were recruited prospectively: 41 continent volunteers (control group) and 26 patients with UUI. Static proton density- and T2-weighted turbo spin echo sequences of MR images were used.

MRI of the Male Pelvic Floor.

The pelvic floor is a complex structure that supports the pelvic organs and provides resting tone and voluntary control of the urethral and anal sphincters. Dysfunction of or injury to the pelvic floor can lead to gastrointestinal, urinary, and sexual dysfunction. The prevalence of pelvic floor disorders is much lower in men than in women, and because of this, the majority of the published literature pertaining to MRI of the pelvic floor is oriented toward evaluation of the female pelvic floor.

Anatomy of the urethral supporting ligaments defined by dissection, histology, and MRI of female cadavers and MRI of healthy nulliparous women.

Objective: There has been no uniformity of opinion concerning the structures supporting the female urethra. Therefore, the aims of this prospective study were to define precisely the female urethral support structures at cadaveric anatomic dissection and histologic examination and to determine which of these structures can be detected on MRI of cadaveric specimens and of healthy volunteers.

Subjects And Methods: Dissection of seven formalin-preserved cadavers (age at death, 25-50 years; no parity history available) was performed by a professor of anatomy to explore the anatomy of the urethral supporting ligaments and was followed by MRI of the cadaveric specimens with ligamentous markers in place and then by histologic analysis of the dissected ligaments.