Bladder: Stem and Progenitor Cells in Adults

The urinary bladder is a muscular sac in the pelvis, just above and behind the pubic bone. The bladder consists of a transitional epithelium and three layers of smooth muscle tissue. When the bladder is empty, it is about the size and shape of a medium-sized pear. The bladder’s primary purpose is to store urine, which is made in the kidneys and travels through the ureters to the bladder. The bladder essentially enables voluntary and infrequent urination. There exist a number of clinical applications in using stem cells to treat various bladder conditions. Researchers already use artificially grown skin tissue in surgery, and scientists are working on a variety of strategies to treat bladder dysfunction using stem cells. The goal is for clinicians to ...

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