Which condition is characterized by urine moving from the bladder back to the ureters?

Which condition is characterized by urine moving from the bladder back to the ureters?

• A. Neurogenic Bladder
• B. Vesicoureteral Reflux
• C. Bladder Diverticulum
• D. Ureterocele

Answer: (B)

Backflow of urine from the bladder into the ureters is vesicoureteral reflux. This happens when the vesicoureteral junction doesn’t close properly as the bladder fills and contracts, so urine can move upward into the ureter and potentially toward the kidney. The anti-reflux mechanism relies on the ureter entering the bladder at an angle and being compressed during detrusor contraction; when this fails, reflux occurs. Ultrasound may show hydronephrosis or hydroureter secondary to reflux, but the definitive test is a voiding cystourethrogram. The other conditions describe different issues: neurogenic bladder involves impaired neural control of bladder storage/emptying; a bladder diverticulum is a mucosal pouch protruding from the bladder wall; a ureterocele is a cystic dilation of the distal ureter within the bladder.

Backflow of urine from the bladder into the ureters is vesicoureteral reflux. This happens when the vesicoureteral junction doesn’t close properly as the bladder fills and contracts, so urine can move upward into the ureter and potentially toward the kidney. The anti-reflux mechanism relies on the ureter entering the bladder at an angle and being compressed during detrusor contraction; when this fails, reflux occurs. Ultrasound may show hydronephrosis or hydroureter secondary to reflux, but the definitive test is a voiding cystourethrogram. The other conditions describe different issues: neurogenic bladder involves impaired neural control of bladder storage/emptying; a bladder diverticulum is a mucosal pouch protruding from the bladder wall; a ureterocele is a cystic dilation of the distal ureter within the bladder.