Lymph Vessels of the Urinary Bladder

Most of the lymph vessels of the urinary bladder (Figure 32: i) drain to the medial iliac lymph nodes (Figure 32: 1), while a small number drain to the hypogastric lymph nodes (Figure 32: 3). These lymph vessels form very coarse, subserosal networks; the lymph vessels emerging from these networks run somewhat longitudinally in the dorsal wall of the urinary bladder.

The lymph vessels from the apex (vertex) and the body of the urinary bladder run in the form of several vessels into the lateral ligament of the urinary bladder (Figure 32: m), where they form coarse networks and merge into 1 to 2 vessels, which then either accompany the external iliac artery and vein, or run near them, to drain to the medial iliac lymph node (Figure 32: 1). Some of the lymph vessels of the apex and body of the bladder merge with the lymph vessels of the caudal part of the bladder and the neck of the bladder, as well as with the lymph vessels of the prostate gland in males (see lymph vessels of the prostate) and of the urethra in females (see lymph vessels of the female urethra) to drain with these to the hypogastric lymph nodes (Figure 32: 3).

Rarely, the lymph vessels of the urinary bladder were observed crossing the median plane. These were always lymph vessels originating from the part of the urinary bladder located between the lateral ligament, the pubovesical ligament, and the median umbilical (vesicoumbilicale) ligament, which then pass around the ventral border of the urinary bladder to the other side and drain to the contralateral lymph nodes (Figure 32: 8).