THE URINARY
SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
The urinary system, also known as the renal system,
produces, stores and eliminates urine, the fluid waste
excreted by the kidneys.
The kidneys make urine by filtering wastes and extra
water from blood.
Urine travels from the kidneys through two thin tubes
called ureters and fills the bladder. Muscles in the
ureter walls continuously tighten and relax to force
urine away from the kidneys.
A backup of urine can cause a kidney infection. Small
amounts of urine are emptied into the bladder from the
ureters about every 10 to 15 seconds.
When the bladder is full, a person urinates through the
urethra to eliminate the waste.
Adrenal gland
PARTS OF
Renal vein Kidney
THE URINARY Renal artery
SYSTEM Ureter
Vena cava Aorta
Medulla
Renal pelvis Bladder
Renal column
Urethra
Cortex
THE KIDNEYS
The kidneys are a pair of bean-
The filtered blood goes back into
shaped organs on either side of
the body. Waste gets turned into
your spine, below your ribs and
urine, which collects in the kidney's
behind your belly. Each kidney is
pelvis -- a funnel-shaped structure
about 12 cms long, roughly the size
that drains down a tube called the
of a large fist.
ureter to the bladder.
The kidneys' job is to filter your
Each kidney has around a million
blood. They remove wastes, control
tiny filters called nephrons. You
the body's fluid balance, and keep
could have only 10% of your
the right levels of electrolytes. All
kidneys working, and you may not
of the blood in your body passes
notice any symptoms or problems.
through them about 40 times a day.
If blood stops flowing into a kidney,
Blood comes into the kidney, waste
part or all of it could die. That can
gets removed, and salt, water, and
lead to kidney failure.
minerals are adjusted, if needed.
URETERS BLADDER
The ureter is a tube that carries urine The bladder is a hollow, balloon-shaped
from the kidney to the urinary bladder. organ that is located in the pelvis. The
There are two ureters, one attached to bladder stores urine until the brain
each kidney. The upper half of the signals the bladder that the person is
ureter is located in the abdomen and ready to empty it.
the lower half is located in the pelvic A normal, healthy bladder can hold up
area. almost half a liter of urine comfortably
The ureter is about 10 to 12 inches for two to five hours. To prevent
long in the average adult. The tube leakage, circular muscles called
has thick walls composed of a fibrous, sphincters close tightly around the
a muscular, and a mucus coat, which opening of the bladder into the urethra,
are able to contract. the tube that allows urine to pass
outside the body.
COMMON URINARY DISORDERS
1- Incontinence: the inability to control or hold back urine
resulting in involuntary leakage.
2- Interstitial cystitis: a chronic bladder condition,
primarily in women, that causes bladder pressure and pain
and, sometimes, pelvic pain to varying degrees.
3- Prostatitis: a swelling of the prostate gland and,
therefore, can only occur in men. Often caused by
advanced age, symptoms include urinary urgency and
frequency, pelvic pain and pain during urination.
4- Kidney stones: They form when chemicals in the urine
become concentrated enough to form a solid mass. They
can cause pain in the back and sides, as well as blood in
the urine.
5- Kidney failure: It can be a temporary (often acute)
condition or can become a chronic condition resulting in the
inability of the kidneys to filter waste from the blood.
6- Kidney cancer: Common symptoms of kidney cancer
include blood in the urine, persistent pain in the side or
back, a mass or lump in the abdomen, unexplained weight
loss, and fatigue.
THANK YOU!
