Advancing urethral health research: Characterization of a male porcine urethra for lower urinary tract investigations.

Left untreated, life threatening urinary tract conditions such as urinary retention and overactive bladder syndrome affect a significant portion of the world's population. To alleviate these conditions, medical devices are introduced to patient care plans. Understanding medical device interactions with the urethra is necessary for innovation and improved urethral health in users. Human models are important for mapping these interactions, but viable tissue samples can be expensive, scarce and difficult to obtain. Animal models have become an alternate approach to human models. However, selecting the appropriate animal model for comparison can vary depending on the methods utilized. Due to their similarities to human, porcine models are emerging for lower urinary tract studies. To achieve various testing modalities of tissue, preparation may differ into native or opened tissue. This study looks at the effects of preparing tissue in a native or opened fashion and provides additional data justifying a male porcine model in lieu of humans using scanning electron microscopy, standard histological microscopy, and immunohistochemistry.