[Age-related changes of the female urethra.]

The minimum and maximum indicators of the length, width, area or volume of organs and structures in the lower urinary tract can normally vary up to 2-3 times. With age, at healthy women the absolute and relative length of the urethra, the urethrovesical angle, and the inclination of the urethra do not change. Both smooth and striated muscle tissues, which are part of various departments of the female urethra, undergo atrophy during the aging process. Smooth muscle tissue is less variable with age, but striated muscle symplasts are sometimes completely absent in urethral biopsies from elderly patients. With age, the vascularization and density of the innervation decrease in the urethral structures, but the content of connective tissue in the external urethral sphincter increases. Urinary tract mobility at young women is more pronounced than at older women. The apparent insufficiency of modern investigations about age-related changes in the lower urinary tract indicates the relevance and need to continue studying of the organ and tissue transformation in the urinary system during aging, this may be important for determining the etiology and pathogenesis of some pathological conditions, such as stress urinary incontinence, as well as for differential diagnosis between age norm and pathology.