urethral sphincter

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Urethral Sphincter

Definition:
The "urethral sphincter" is a muscle in the body that surrounds the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. This muscle helps control when you urinate by tightening (constricting) or loosening (relaxing) around the urethra.

Advanced Usage:

• In medical discussions, you might hear about conditions related to the urethral sphincter, such as urinary incontinence (the inability to control urination) or sphincterotomy, a surgical procedure to cut the sphincter muscle.

Word Variants:

• Urethra: The tube through which urine exits the body.
• Sphincter: A type of muscle that can contract and relax to control the opening and closing of a passage in the body.

Different Meanings:

• In a broader sense, "sphincter" can refer to any muscle in the body that controls an opening, such as the anal sphincter (controls the opening of the anus) or the pyloric sphincter (controls the passage from the stomach to the small intestine).

Synonyms:

• Constrictor muscle (in a general sense, though not all constrictor muscles are sphincters).

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• There are no direct idioms or phrasal verbs specifically related to "urethral sphincter," but understanding phrases like "hold it in" can relate to the function of this muscle.

Summary:

The "urethral sphincter" is an important muscle that helps control the release of urine from the bladder.

Academic

Noun

1. a striated sphincter muscle that constricts the urethra

Synonyms

• musculus sphincter urethrae