During a routine examination, the nurse notes that the client seems unusually anxious. Anxiety can affect the genitourinary system by:

During a routine examination, the nurse notes that the client seems unusually anxious. Anxiety can affect the genitourinary system by:

• A. stimulating or hindering micturition
• B. increasing kidney size
• C. decreasing urine production due to retention
• D. preventing infections

Answer: (A)

Anxiety can alter bladder function through autonomic nervous system activity that controls micturition. The act of voiding depends on a balance between parasympathetic signals that stimulate the detrusor muscle to contract and relax the internal sphincter, and sympathetic/somatic inputs that can inhibit voiding or tighten the sphincter. When someone is anxious, sympathetic arousal can shift this balance, leading to either increased urgency and frequency (detrusor overactivity) or difficulty initiating urination and urinary retention (detrusor inhibition and sphincter contraction). That dual possibility—anxiety that may either stimulate or hinder micturition—captures how emotional state can directly influence the genitourinary system. The other statements aren’t typical acute effects of anxiety: anxiety doesn’t acutely enlarge the kidneys, nor does it directly reduce urine production due to retention in a consistent way, and preventing infections isn’t an expected outcome of anxiety.

Anxiety can alter bladder function through autonomic nervous system activity that controls micturition. The act of voiding depends on a balance between parasympathetic signals that stimulate the detrusor muscle to contract and relax the internal sphincter, and sympathetic/somatic inputs that can inhibit voiding or tighten the sphincter. When someone is anxious, sympathetic arousal can shift this balance, leading to either increased urgency and frequency (detrusor overactivity) or difficulty initiating urination and urinary retention (detrusor inhibition and sphincter contraction). That dual possibility—anxiety that may either stimulate or hinder micturition—captures how emotional state can directly influence the genitourinary system. The other statements aren’t typical acute effects of anxiety: anxiety doesn’t acutely enlarge the kidneys, nor does it directly reduce urine production due to retention in a consistent way, and preventing infections isn’t an expected outcome of anxiety.