ReviewSpinal cord series and cases2018
The importance of the bulbocavernosus reflex.
Review in Spinal cord series and cases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- A model identifying characteristics predictive of successful pelvic floor muscle training outcomes among women with stress urinary incontinence.International urogynecology journal · 2021Trial
- Development and validation of the electrosacrogram (ESG): a digital point-of-care tool for real-time neuro-sacral assessment after spinal cord injury.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Pediatric Voiding Dysfunction: Definitions and Management.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Pleasurable and problematic receptive anal intercourse and diseases of the colon, rectum and anus.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2024Review
- Urethral pressure profile during ejaculation in men with spinal cord injury.International journal of impotence research · 2023Article
- Electromyography of the External Anal Sphincter during Micturition and Electrophysiological Bulbocavernosus Reflex in Healthy Spayed Female Canines.Veterinary medicine international · 2023Article
- Predicting motor function recovery in cervical spinal cord injury-induced complete paralysis with reflex response.Spinal cord · 2022Article
- What is the clinical meaning of a negative bulbocavernosus reflex in spinal cord injury patients?Spinal cord series and cases · 2022Article
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- Anal reflex versus bulbocavernosus reflex in evaluation of patients with spinal cord injury.Spinal cord series and cases · 2020Review
- Bulbocavernosus or anal reflex, one or both should be tested after spinal cord injury.Spinal cord series and cases · 2020Review
- The sacral exam-what is needed to best care for our patients?Spinal cord series and cases · 2020Review
- Improving Sexual Function by Using Focal Vibrations in Men with Spinal Cord Injury: Encouraging Findings from a Feasibility Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2019Article
- Awards and updates.Spinal cord series and cases · 2018Article
- The importance of the anal exam in neurologic classification of spinal cord injury.Spinal cord series and cases · 2018Review
- International Standards to document Autonomic Function following SCI (ISAFSCI): Second Edition.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitationArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The BCR consists of the contraction of the bulbocavernosus muscle in response to squeezing the glans penis or clitoris, and is mediated through the pudendal nerve. In case of a complete lesion, the presence of BCR is indicative of intact S2-S4 spinal reflex arcs and loss of supraspinal inhibition, determining an upper motor neuron (UMN) lesion, its absence a lower motor neuron (LMN) lesion. The BCR further helps distinguish conus medullaris from cauda equina syndromes. Sensory or motor function in the most caudal sacral segments, not BCR, defines the sacral sparing as part of the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI). Sphincter dysfunctions are addressed in the International Standards for the Assessment of Autonomic Function after SCI (ISAFSCI). However, the ISAFSCI does not include the BCR, and is not part of the ISNCSCI. Yet, determination of the type of lesion, UMN or LMN, is very useful for the clinicians, and has important prognostic and therapeutic implications for bowel, bladder, and sexual function: UMN lesions are associated with detrusor and rectum hyperactivity, reflex erection and ejaculation, while the opposite is seen in patients with LMN lesions. BCR is complementary to the voluntary contraction of the external anal sphincter and should be added to ISNCSCI and ISAFSCI classifications, which should ultimately benefit patient care and research activities.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.