What is a bladder diverticulum and what are its symptoms?

Many people may be unfamiliar with bladder diverticulum, which is more common in male friends. Understanding the causes and symptoms of this disease will help friends prevent and eliminate the occurrence of this disease. So what are the general symptoms of bladder diverticulum?

(I) Causes: Congenital lesions such as urethral stenosis, posterior urethral valve, bladder neck constriction, and obstruction promote the formation and development of diverticula, which are the main factors for the formation of diverticula. Clinically, most patients with bladder neck obstruction do not develop diverticula, and some diverticula do not have obstruction. Therefore, the formation of bladder diverticula is also related to the congenital abnormal arrangement of bladder muscle fibers. Lower urinary tract obstruction and high blood pressure are the main causes of secondary bladder diverticula.

Clinically, the most common diverticula are those located near the ureteral orifice. In embryogenesis, the bladder wall and the bladder trigone are different. It is currently believed that the weak connection between the trigone and the detrusor muscle is related to the formation of bladder diverticula.

Bladder diverticula may also occur in cases of blind ureteral opening. Oriasa (1990) reported 2 cases of blind ureteral opening leading to ureteral and bladder diverticula.

Another type of bladder diverticulum is located in the neck and may be associated with incomplete effacement of the ureter. It often occurs secondary to lower urinary tract obstruction or prune-belly syndrome.

(II) Pathogenesis: Congenital diverticula are often caused by the bulging of superfluous ureteric buds, unclosed amniourethral tubes, and congenital weak spots in the bladder wall muscle layer. Diverticula are mostly single, and the diverticula wall contains the entire bladder layer. They are more common in children, and there is no obstruction of the lower urinary tract. Bladder diverticula can also be caused by secondary factors, mostly due to lower urinary tract obstruction. The bladder wall secondary to lower urinary tract obstruction bulges from the split detrusor muscle bundles to form diverticula, which are often multiple. The diverticula wall has mucosal trabeculae (this type of diverticula does not contain the various layers of bladder wall tissue, so it is also called pseudodiverticula). It is more common in adult males, and there is also detrusor hyperplasia.