Viscoelastic properties of bladder strips: standardization of a technique.

The standardization of a stretching technique for bladder strips was carried out as a step towards its clinical use. Six variables were studied on specimens of prefrozen bladders taken from human cadavers. Repeated elongations change the nature of the muscle. Viscoelastic coefficients of mucosa are markedly higher than those of muscle. It is necessary to study specimens that have essentially the same direction of fibers and that are located in the same portion of the bladder. The thickness of the specimen does not affect coefficients significantly. The percentage of muscular elongation, in relationship to specimen length, should not exceed 20 per cent in order to have linear reproducible results.