General Terms:

• Pelvic floor muscles:    Muscles in the pelvis that support and help control the action of the vagina, the uterus, the bladder, the urethra, and the rectum.
  
  
• Pelvic organs:  Collective term used for the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, bladder, urethra, and rectum.
  
  
• Bladder:   A muscular organ which stores urine and which contracts to eliminate it.
  
  
• Ureters:   A pair of tubes, each leading from one of the kidneys to the bladder.
  
  
• Urethra:   A short narrow tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body.
  
  
• Voiding:   Passage of urine out of the body.

Common Pelvic Floor Disorders:

• Urinary retention:  The inability to empty the bladder completely. This problem can result from pelvic organ prolapse, surgery in the pelvic area, and other reasons. With retention, patients may store increasingly larger volumes of urine.  In some instances, the kidneys may be damaged by a back-up of urine from the bladder. To avoid this, self-catheterization is sometimes required.  CLICK HERE for more information about self-catheterization.
  
  
• Urinary incontinence:   Uncontrolled leakage of urine.
  
  
• Fecal incontinence:   Uncontrolled leakage of stool or gas.
  
  
• Stress incontinence:    Uncontrolled loss of urine during activities that put "stress" on the bladder such as laughing, coughing, sneezing, lifting, etc.   CLICK HERE for more information about stress incontinence.
  
  
• Low pressure urethra:   When the urethra can no longer remain closed, allowing urine to leak. Also called intrinsic sphincteric deficiency (ISD).   CLICK HERE for more information about low pressure urethra.
  
  
• Urge incontinence:   An involuntary loss of urine preceded by a strong urge to urinate (also known as "overactive bladder").   CLICK HERE for more information about urge incontinence.
  
  
• Vesicovaginal fistula:   A hole created between the vagina and bladder which may follow childbirth trauma, surgical injury, or radiation therapy.  Urine can leak through this hole from the bladder into the vagina.
  
  
• Urethral diverticulum:   A short section of the urethra that bulges outward creating a small pocket in which urine can collect.  Patients with a diverticulae may dribble urine from this pocket after voiding.  These diverticulae can also become infected.
  
  
• Dysuria:   Painful urination.
  
  
• Urgency:   A powerful need to urinate immediately.
  
  
• Frequency:   The need to urinate more frequently than normal (more frequently than every 2 hours or 7 times per day).
  
  
• Nocturia:   Waking up more than once during the night to urinate.
  
  
• Dyspareunia:   Painful sexual intercourse.
  
  
• Pelvic organ prolapse:   When pelvic organs move or "drop" to a lower level in the pelvis because of poor support.   CLICK HERE for more information on pelvic organ prolapse.
  
  
  

Diagnostic Test:

• Cystoscopy:   A visual inspection of the interior bladder surface using a long slender
  instrument composed of lenses and a light source.
  
  
• Sonography, also called ultrasonography:    An imaging test which sends sound waves to and receives them back from an organ to create an image of that organ. 
  
  
• Urodynamic testing:   This family of tests evaluates how well the bladder stores and releases
  urine.
  
  
• Voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG):   An radiological test that uses x-rays and contrast material (dye that is visible on x-ray films) to create an image of the bladder, ureters, and urine flow during urination.
  
  
• Dynamic fluoroscopy of the pelvic floor:   A radiological test that uses x-rays and contrast material (dye that is visible on x-ray films) to measure pelvic organ prolapse during defecation.  Contrast material is placed into the rectum, bladder, and vagina.  X-rays project an image of the organs onto a fluorescent screen as the patient bears down and mimics defecation.
  
  
• Intravenous pyelography (IVP):   A radiological test that uses x-rays and contrast material (dye that is visible on x-ray films) to create images of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.   Contrast material is injected through an intravenous catheter into a patient's vein.  After entering the circulatory system, the contrast material is filtered by the kidneys, is drained by the ureters, and then is stored by the bladder.   As the contrast flows through and fills these organs, their anatomy can be seen on the x-ray films.
  
  
• Electrodiagnostic testing (EMG) of the pelvic floor:   This testing evaluates the function of nerves that stimulate the pelvic floor muscles. Small adhesive patches applied to various places on the body are used to determine the pelvic floor muscles' response to a series of small electrical impulses.
  
  
• Anal manometry:   Anal manometry uses a small catheter placed into the rectum to evaluate the strength and function of the anal sphincter. 

Gynecology and Fertility Clinic
Aston Ambulatory Care Building
5303 Harry Hines Blvd., Fifth Floor, Room U5.104
Dallas, Texas 75390-8865
For a complete list of phone numbers CLICK HERE