Urethane is a common and often preferred anesthetic agent for urodynamic recordings in rats, but its use is often restricted to terminal procedures because of a prolonged duration of action and potentially toxic effects. When urodynamic recordings are part of survival procedures in rodent experimental models, inhalation anesthetic, such as isoflurane, are frequently used and generally well tolerated. Here, we compared the effects of urethane and isoflurane on lower urinary tract function. For this purpose, adult female rats were anesthetized by subcutaneous administration of urethane (n=6) or by the inhalation anesthetic, isoflurane (n=5). Micturition reflexes were assessed by concurrent cystometrogram and external urethral sphincter (EUS) electromyography (EMG) recordings to determine bladder contractile properties, EUS activation patterns, and the coordination between bladder contractions and EUS activation. We demonstrate that isoflurane reduced firing frequency and amplitude of EUS EMG activity during voiding as well as the EUS EMG amplitude during the bladder filling phase. Isoflurane also prolonged the bladder inter-contractile intervals. Other several key functional aspects of the bladder contractile properties as well as the coordination between bladder contractions were not different between the two experimental groups. We conclude that micturition reflexes were differentially affected by isoflurane and urethane. Specifically, isoflurane exhibited a significant suppression of the EUS EMG activity and prolonged the bladder inter-contractile intervals. We suggest that these anesthetic properties are taken into consideration during the experimental design and interpretation of urodynamic recordings in rodent models.