Somato-motor components of the pelvic and pudendal nerves of the female rat

Reflexes evoked by electrical stimulation of afferent axons in the pudendal nerve under empty and distended bladder conditions in urethane-anesthetized rats

“…On the other hand EUS reflex activity was not completely eliminated by crushing the pudendal nerves bilaterally (Fig. 6D, also see Kamo et al, 2004) indicating that the EUS or adjacent periurethral striated muscles that contribute to the EMG activity are innervated by other motor nerves, e.g., the muscular branch of the pelvic nerve to the illiococcygeus/pubococcygeus muscle (Kamo et al, 2004;Pacheco et al, 1989Pacheco et al, , 1997. These nerves could be involved in the pudendal-EUS reflex.…”

Electromyography of Pelvic Floor Muscles in Rats

“…According to their individual fiber distributions, the muscles have been classified as coccygeus, iliococcygeus, iliocaudalis, pubococcygeus, or pubocaudalis (Brink & Pfaff 1980;Pacheco et al 1989;Poortmans & Wyndaele 1998). The last two are commonly referred as the levator ani muscles, although in rats this term can be confusing because levator ani is also used to name a sexually dimorphic striated muscle closely related to the rectum that is only present in males (Cihak et al 1970;Poortmans & Wyndaele 1998).…”

“…The fibers insert in the proximal tail bone, at the first and second coccygeal vertebral bone (Brink & Pfaff 1980;Pacheco et al 1989;Poortmans & Wyndaele 1998). It is not directly related to the pelvic viscera.…”

“…Its fibers originate at the ventromedial border of the pubic bones at the level of the acetabulum and insert onto the ventromedial surface of the tail bone, at the third and fourth caudal vertebrae ( Figure 13). Its ventromedial fibers have connective tissue that attach to the peritoneal surface of the ventral vaginal wall and run caudally, lateral to the rectum (Pacheco et al 1989;Poortmans & Wyndaele 1998). The pubococcygeus and coccygeus are closely attached and are difficult to separate from each other (Poortmans & Wyndaele 1998).…”

“…The pelvic muscles form a bowl-shaped support attached to the pelvis, the coccyx, the pelvic ligaments and supports the vesical organs (Ashton-Miller et al 2001;Wall 1993). Anatomic landmarks for these muscles in female rats are generally similar to those in women except for the lack of a puborectalis muscle in rats and the coccyx which controls the well-developed tail in the rat (Barber et al 2002;Borirakchanyavat et al 1997;Pacheco et al 1989). In female rats the pubococcygeus and iliococcygeus are primarily innervated by the levator ani nerve from the L6-S1 trunk (Figure 1) (Bremer et al 2003;Jiang et al 2010) The levator ani nerve travels into the pelvic floor from the ventromedial surface and the nerve roots are generally more proximal in female rats compared to women (Barber et al 2002;Jiang et al 2010).…”