U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Skip to Main Navigation
Skip to Page Content
Skip to Atlas Navigation

Urinary Bladder - Vacuolation, Cytoplasmic

Image of vacuolization, cytoplasmic in the urinary bladder from a female B6C3F1 mouse in a subchronic study
Cytoplasmic vacuolation: clear vacuoles are present in urothelial �umbrella� cells from a male B6C3F1 mouse in a 28-day study.
Figure 1 of 3
Image of vacuolization, cytoplasmic in the urinary bladder from a female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rat in a chronic study
Cytoplasmic vacuolation of more superficial urothelial cells from a female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rat in a chronic study.
Figure 2 of 3
Image of vacuolization, cytoplasmic in the urinary bladder from a male F344/N rat in a chronic study
Diffuse artifactual vacuolation of basal urothelial cells from a male F344/N rat in a chronic study.
Figure 3 of 3
next arrow
View all images

comment:

Cytoplasmic vacuolation of urothelial cells is regarded as a nonspecific lesion that may occur secondary to cell injury by a variety of bladder toxicants or carcinogens. It may or may not be related to degeneration. Vacuolation is usually noted in “umbrella” cells or more superficial urothelial cells ( Figure 1image opens in a pop-up window and Figure 2image opens in a pop-up window ). Uniform urothelial cell vacuolation (typically within the basal cell layer) may be an artifact resulting from autolysis ( Figure 3image opens in a pop-up window ).

recommendation:

Cytoplasmic vacuolation should be diagnosed and given a severity grade.

references:

Frazier KS, Seely JC, Hard GC, Betton G, Burnett R, Nakatsuji S, Nishikawa A, Durchfeld-Meyer B, Bube A. 2012. Proliferative and non-proliferative lesions in the rat and mouse urinary system. Toxicol Pathol 40:14S-86S.
Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22637735

Back to top

Web page last updated on: January 02, 2014