Figure 3.
P4 Sprague Dawley rats were treated with the NOS inhibitor L-NAME, or PBS (control), for eight days and bladder, penis, and prostate morphology were examined. In control bladder, smooth muscle bundles interspersed with collagen were observed. With L-NAME treatment the smooth muscle bundles appeared less ordered with increased collagen staining. In control penis, interconnected collagen bundles were interspersed with smooth muscle. With L-NAME treatment the collagen bundles appeared sparse, less interconnected and developed. In the control prostate there were a large number of ducts surrounded by stroma containing collagen. In the L-NAME treated prostate there was less stromal tissue surrounding the ducts, and the ducts appeared larger with increased epithelium. 63–100× magnification.