THE URINARY SYSTEM
Thousands of metabolic processes in
myriad body cells produce hundreds of
waste products.
The urinary system removes them by
filtering and cleansing the blood as it passes
through the kidneys.
Another vital function is the regulation of
the volume, acidity, salinity, concentration,
and chemical composition of blood, lymph,
and other body fluids.
Under hormonal control, the kidneys
continually monitor what they release into
the urine to maintain a healthy chemical
balance.
Disorders of the system can be subtle,
so urination-related symptoms should
FUNCTION OF URINARY SYSTEM
Excretion – removal of waste material from the blood plasma and
the disposal of this waste in the urine .
Elimination – removal of waste from other organ systems. From
Digestive system – undigested food , water , salt , ions drugs. From
Respiratory system – CO2, H+, water , toxins. From skin – water,
NaCl , nitrogenous wastes (urea , uric acid, ammonia , creatinine).
water balance - kidney tubules regulate water reassertion and
urine concentration .
Regulation of pH - volume ,and composition of body fluids .
production of erythropoietin: for hematopoiesis, and renin
for blood pressure regulation .
ANATOMY OF URINARY SYSTEM
Kidneys – a pair of bean – shaped organs located
retroperitoneally , responsible for blood filtering and urine formation.
Renal capsule – a layer of fibrous connective tissue covering
the kidneys.
Renal cortex – outer region of the kidneys where most
enthrones is located .
Renal medulla – inner region of the kidneys where some
enthrones is located , also where urine is collected to be excreted
outward .
Renal calyx – duct – like sections of renal medulla for
collecting urine from nephrons and direct urine into renal
pelvis.
Renal pyramid – connective tissues in the renal medulla
binding
various structures together .
Renal pelvis – central urine collecting area of renal medulla .
Hilum – concave notch of kidneys where renal artery, renal
vein,ureter , nerves ,and lymphatic vessels converge .
Ureter – a tubule that transport urine (mainly by peristalsis) from
the kidney to the urinary bladder .
Urinary bladder – a spherical storage organ that contains up to
400 ml of urine .
Urethra – a tubule that excretes urine out of the urinary bladder
to the outside , through the urethral orifice .
The urinary system is composed of a pair of
kidneys, a pair of ureters, a bladder, and a
urethra.
These components together carry out the
urinary system’s function of regulating the
volume and composition of body fluids,
removing waste products from the blood, and
expelling the waste and excess water from the
body in the form of urine.
The two kidneys are reddish organs resembling
beans in shape that are situated on either side
of the abdomen just above the waist and
towards the back of the body.
The kidneys contain microscopic filtering units
that remove waste, unwanted minerals, and
excess water from the blood as urine.
Each kidney is connected to the bladder by a
long tube called a ureter, which transports
urine away.
The bladder is a hollow, muscular
organ situated centrally in the pelvis;
it stores urine until it is convenient to
release it.
At a certain volume, stretch receptors in its
wall transmit nervous impulses that
initiate a conscious desire to urinate. The
urethra then conducts urine from the
bladder to the outside.
THE KIDNEYS
The kidneys sit at the back of
the abdominal wall and at the
start of the urinary system.
These organs are constantly
at work:
❖ Nephrons, tiny structures
in the renal pyramids,
filter gallons of blood each
day.
❖ The kidneys reabsorb vital
substances, remove
unwanted ones, and return
the filtered blood back to the
body.
❖ As if they weren’t busy
enough, the kidneys also
Kidney cross section
This cutaway shows the
kidney’s main layers, the
cortex and the medulla, which
form segments known as renal
pyramids.
The renal artery and vein
circulate huge amounts of blood
– about 2 1/2 pints/min at rest,
which is up to one-quarter of the
heart’s total output.
The kidneys are located
behind the peritoneum, and
so are called retroperitoneal
organs.
They sit in the back of the
abdomen between the levels
of the T12 and L03 vertebrae.
The right kidney is slightly
lower than the left kidney
to accommodate the
liver.
Both kidneys are bean-
shaped and about the size
of an adult fist.
Blood enters the kidneys through
renal arteries.
These arteries branch into tiny
capillaries that interact with urinary
structures inside the kidneys
(namely the nephrons).
Here the blood is filtered.
Waste is removed and vital
substances are reabsorbed back into
the bloodstream.
The filtered blood leaves through
the renal veins.
All the blood in the body moves in
and out of the kidneys hundreds
of times each day—that’s about
200 quarts of liquid to be filtered
every 24 hours.
Microscopic Anatomy Each kidney consists of about 1 million basic functional
units called nephrons where blood filtering and urine formation occur.
Each nephron is composed of 10 parts – afferent arteriole → glomerulus
→bowman's capsule → efferent arteriole → proximal convoluted tubule (PCT)
→ descending limb of loop of henle → loop of henle ascending limb of loop of
henle → distal convoluted tubule(DCT) → collecting duct (not part of the
nephron).
molecules in the blood that will be transformed to become part of urine travel
through the above structures, while molecules that will be retained and
reabsorbed back to the blood will come out of the bowman's capsule, and go
into efferent arteriole and the peritubular capillaries .
Each kidney contains over 1
million tiny structures called
nephrons.
The nephrons are located
partly in the cortex and partly
inside the renal pyramids,
where the nephron tubules
make up most of the pyramid
mass.
Nephrons perform the
primary function of the
kidneys: regulating the
concentration of water and
other substances in the
body.
They filter the blood,
reabsorb what the body
needs, and excrete the rest
The kidneys filter unwanted
substances from the blood and
produce urine to excrete
them.
There are 3 main steps of
urine formation:
Glomerular
filtration,
Reabsorption
Secretion.
These processes ensure that
only waste and excess water
are removed from the body.
Each nephron has a
glomerulus, the site of blood
filtration.
The glomerulus is a network of
capillaries surrounded by a
cuplike structure, the
glomerular capsule (or
Bowman’s capsule).
As blood flows through the
glomerulus, blood pressure
pushes water and solutes from
the capillaries into the
capsule through a filtration
membrane.
This glomerular filtration
begins the urine formation
The nephrons of the kidneys
process blood and create
urine through a process of
filtration, reabsorption, and
secretion.
Urine is about 95% water
and 5% waste products.
Nitrogenous wastes excreted
in urine include urea,
creatinine, ammonia, and uric
acid.
Ions such as sodium,
potassium, hydrogen, and
calcium are also excreted.
Urine produced in the
kidneys travels down the
ureters into the urinary
bladder.
The bladder expands like an
elastic sac to hold more
urine.
As it reaches capacity, the
process of micturition, or
urination, begins.
Involuntary muscle
movements send signals to
the nervous system, putting
the decision to urinate
under conscious control.
The internal urethral sphincter and
the external urethral sphincter
both provide muscle control for
the flow of urine.
The internal sphincter is
involuntary.
It surrounds the opening of the
bladder to the urethra and
relaxes to allow urine to pass.
The external sphincter is
voluntary.
It surrounds the urethra outside
the bladder and must be
relaxed for urination to occur.
Smooth muscle stretch initiates
the micturition reflex by activating
stretch receptors in the bladder
wall.
This autonomic reflex causes the
detrusor muscle to contract and
the internal urethral sphincter
muscle to relax, allowing urine to
flow into the urethra.
The stretch receptors also send
a message to the thalamus
and the cerebral cortex, giving
voluntary control over the
external urethral sphincter.
We usually gain this control of
urination between the ages of 2
and 3, as our brains develop.
