Urinary system

• Two kidneys, secrete urine

• Two ureters, convey the urine from kidney to
urinary bladder
• Urinary bladder, collects and stores urine
• Urethra, through which urine leaves the body
 Functions of kidney
• formation of urine, maintaining water,
electrolyte and acid–base balance excretion of
waste products
• production and secretion of erythropoietin,
the hormone that stimulates formation of red
blood cells
• production and secretion of renin, an enzyme
in the control of blood pressure
 Kidneys
• The kidneys lie on the posterior abdominal wall,
one on each side of the vertebral column, behind
the peritoneum and below the diaphragm.

• They extend from the level of the 12th thoracic

vertebra to the 3rd lumbar Vertebra

• The right kidney is slightly lower than the left,

because of the considerable space occupied by
the liver.
• Kidneys are bean-shaped organs, about 11 cm
long, 6 cm wide, 3 cm thick and weigh 150 g.
• They are embedded in, and held in position
by, a mass of fat.
• A sheath of fibrous connective tissue, the
renal fascia, encloses the kidney and the renal
fat.
 Relations of kidneys
• Right kidney
• Superiorly – the right adrenal gland
• Anteriorly – the right lobe of the liver, the
duodenum and the hepatic flexure of the
colon
• Posteriorly – the diaphragm, and muscles of
the posterior abdominal wall.
• Left kidney
• Superiorly – the left adrenal gland
• Anteriorly – the spleen, stomach, pancreas,
jejunum and splenic flexure of the colon
• Posteriorly – the diaphragm and muscles of
the posterior abdominal wall
 Structure of kidney
• an outer fibrous capsule, surrounding the kidney the
cortex, a reddish-brown layer of tissue immediately
below the capsule and outside the renal pyramids
• the medulla, the innermost layer, consisting of pale
conical-shaped striations, the renal pyramids.
• The hilum is the concave medial border of the kidney
• where the renal blood and lymph vessels, the ureter
and nerves enter.
• Urine formed within the kidney passes through a renal
• papilla at the apex of a pyramid into a minor calyx
• Several minor calyces merge into a major calyx
and two or three major calyces combine
forming the renal pelvis, a funnel shaped
structure that narrows when it leaves the
kidney as the ureter.
• The kidney contains about 1–2 million
functional units, the nephrons, and a much
smaller number of collecting
• ducts. The collecting ducts transport urine
through the pyramids to the calyces,
 Structure of nephron
• The nephron is essentially a tubule closed at
one end that joins a collecting duct at the
other end.
• The closed or blind end is indented to form
the cup-shaped glomerular capsule
(Bowman’s capsule), which almost completely
encloses a network of tiny arterial capillaries,
the glomerulus
• the proximal convoluted tubule

• the medullary loop (loop of Henle)

• the distal convoluted tubule, leading into a

collecting duct
• The collecting ducts unite, forming larger
ducts that empty into the minor calyces
 Mechanism of urine formation
• Three processes involved in the formation of
urine:
• filtration
• selective reabsorption
• secretion.
 Flitration
• This takes place through the semipermeable
walls of the glomerulus and glomerular
capsule. Water and other small molecules
readily pass through, although some are
reabsorbed later.
• Blood cells, plasma proteins and other large
molecules are too large to filter through and
therefore remain in the capillaries
• The volume of filtrate formed by both kidneys
each minute is called the glomerular filtration
rate (GFR).
• In a healthy adult the GFR is about 125
mL/min
 Selective reabsorption
• Most reabsorption from the filtrate back into the
blood takes place in the proximal convoluted
tubule, whose walls are lined with microvilli to
increase surface area for absorption.
• Many substances are reabsorbed here, including
some water, electrolytes and organic nutrients
such as glucose. Some reabsorption is passive, but
some substances, e.g. glucose, are actively
transported.
• Much of this, especially water, sodium and
chloride, is reabsorbed in the loop
• More electrolytes are reabsorbed here,
especially sodium, so the filtrate entering the
collecting ducts is actually quite dilute.
• The main function of the collecting ducts is to
reabsorb as much water as the body needs
• Some constituents of glomerular filtrate (e.g.
glucose, amino acids) do not normally appear
in urine because they are completely
reabsorbed unless blood levels are excessive.
• Reabsorption of nitrogenous waste products,
such as urea, uric acid and creatinine is very
limited.
 Tubular secretion
• Filtration occurs as blood flows through the
glomerulus.
• Some substances are cleared by secretion
from the peritubular capillaries into the
filtrate within the convoluted tubules.
• Tubular secretion of hydrogen ions (H+) is
important in maintaining normal blood pH.
• The ureters carry urine from the kidneys to
the urinary bladder.
• The ureter is continuous with the funnel-
shaped renal pelvis.
• It passes downwards through the abdominal
cavity, behind the peritoneum in front of the
psoas muscle into the pelvic cavity, and passes
obliquely through the posterior wall of
bladder
• As urine accumulates and the pressure in the
bladder rises, the ureters are compressed and
the openings into the bladder are occluded.
This prevents backflow (reflux) of urine into
the ureters (towards the kidneys) as the
bladder fills and also during micturition,
• Peristalsis propels urine along the ureter
towards the bladder.
 Urinary bladder
• The urinary bladder is a reservoir for urine. It
lies in the pelvic cavity
• its size and position vary, depending on the
volume of urine it contains.
• When distended, the bladder rises into the
abdominal cavity
 Bladder relations in females
• Anteriorly-symphysis pubis

• Posteriorly-uterus and upper part of the vagina

• Superiorly-small intestine

• Inferiorly-urethra and the muscles forming the

pelvic floor
 Bladder relations in males
• Anteriorly-symphysis pubis

• Posteriorly-rectum and seminal vesicles

• Superiorly-small intestine

• Inferiorly-urethra and prostate gland

• The three orifices in the bladder wall form a
triangle or trigone .
• The upper two orifices on the posterior wall
are the openings of the ureters; the lower
orifice is the opening into the urethra.
• The internal urethral sphincter, a thickening of
the urethral smooth muscle layer in the upper
part of the urethra, controls outflow of urine
from the bladder.
 Urethra
• The urethra is a canal extending from the neck
of the bladder to the exterior, at the external
urethral orifice.
• It is longer in the male than in the female
• male urethra is associated with both the
urinary and reproductive systems
• female urethra runs downwards and forwards
behind the symphysis pubis and opens at the
external urethral orifice just in front of the
vagina.
• The external urethral orifice is guarded by the
external urethral sphincter, which is under
voluntary control.
 Micturition
• In infants, accumulation of urine in the bladder
activates stretch receptors in the bladder wall
generating sensory afferent impulses that are
transmitted to the spinal cord, where a spinal
reflex is initiated.
• This stimulates involuntary contraction of the
detrusor muscle and relaxation of the internal
urethral sphincter (Fig. 13.21), and expels urine
from the bladder – this is micturition or voiding of
urine.
• When bladder control is established, the
micturition reflex is still stimulated but sensory
impulses also pass upwards to the brain and
there is awareness of the need to pass urine as
the bladder fills (around 300–400 mL in adults).
• By learned and conscious effort, contraction of
the external urethral sphincter and muscles of
the pelvic floor can inhibit micturition until it is
convenient to pass urine