• Leonardo Oliveira Reis, Josep Maria Gaya Sopena, Wagner José Fávaro, Mireia Castilho Martin, Antônio Felipe Leite Simão, Rodolfo Borges dos Reis, Murilo Ferreira de Andrade, Josep Domingo Domenech, and Carlos Cordon Cardo.
• Department of Urology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. reisleo@unicamp.br
• Acta Cir Bras. 2011 Jan 1;26 Suppl 2:106-10.

PurposeTo present fundamental anatomical aspects and technical skills necessary to urethra and urinary bladder catheterization in female mice and rats.MethodsUrethral and bladder catheterization has been widely utilized for carcinogenesis and cancer research and still remains very useful in several applications: from toxicological purposes as well as inflammatory and infectious conditions to functional aspects as bladder dynamics and vesicoureteral reflux, among many others.ResultsAnimal models are in the center of translational research and those involving rodents are the most important nowadays due to several advantages including human reproducibility, easy handling and low cost.ConclusionsAlthough technical and anatomical pearls for rodent urethral and bladder access are presented as tackles to the advancement of lower urinary tract preclinical investigation in a broaden sight, restriction to female animals hampers the male microenvironment, demanding future advances.

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