Anatomy & Physiology

Body Systems Guide

The Urinary System

The function of the urinary system is to remove waste products from the blood and eliminate them from the body. The principal waste products being eliminated are water, carbon dioxide and nitrogenous wastes including area, uric acid and creatinine. Other functions of the urinary system include the regulation of the volume of body fluids, the balance of pH and the electrolyte composition of these fluids. Kidneys The kidneys are located in the back of the upper abdomen and are protected by the lower ribs and rib cartilage of the back. The kidneys are involved with a number of bodily functions which include:

The filtering and excretion of unwanted waste products such as urea from the body. The maintenance of water balance. the regulation of the acid-base balance of body fluids. the production of renin, which is important in the regulation of blood pressure. The production of the hormone erythropoieten, which stimulates the production of red blood cells.

Ureters The ureters are two slender tubes that run from the sides of the kidneys to the bladder. Their function is to transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Bladder The bladder is a muscular organ and serves as a reservoir for urine. Located just behind the pubic bone, it can extend well up into the abdominal cavity when full. Near the outlet of the bladder is a small muscle called the internal sphincter, which contract involuntarily to prevent the emptying of the bladder. Urethra The urethra is a tube that extends from the bladder to the outside world. It is through this tube that urine is eliminated from the body.

Urinary system
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Urinary system

1. Human urinary system: 2. Kidney, 3. Renal pelvis, 4. Ureter, 5. Urinary bladder, 6. Urethra. (Left side with frontal section) 7. Adrenal gland Vessels: 8. Renal artery and vein, 9. Inferior vena cava, 10.Abdominal aorta, 11. Common iliac artery and vein With transparency: 12. Liver, 13. Large intestine, 14. Pelvis Latin systema urinarium

The urinary system (also called the excretory system) is the organ system that produces, stores, and eliminates urine. In humans it includes two kidneys, two ureters, the bladder and the urethra.

Physiology of urinary system

[edit]Kidney

Main article: Kidney The kidneys are bean-shaped organs that lie in the abdomen, retroperitoneal to the organs of digestion, around or just below the ribcage and close to the lumbar spine. The organ is about the size of a human fist and is surrounded by what is called Peri-nephric fat, and situated on the superior pole of each kidney is an adrenal gland. The kidneys receive their blood supply of 1.25 L/min (25% of the cardiac output) from the renal arteries which are fed by the abdominal aorta. This is important because the kidneys' main role is to filter water soluble waste products from the blood. The other attachment of the kidneys are at their functional endpoints the ureters, which lies more medial and runs down to the trigone of urinary bladder. The kidneys perform a number of tasks, such as: concentrating urine, regulating electrolytes, and maintaining acid-base homeostasis. The kidney excretes and reabsorbs electrolytes (e.g. sodium, potassium and calcium) under the influence of local and systemic hormones. pHbalance is regulated by the excretion of bound acids and ammonium ions. In addition, they remove urea, a nitrogenous waste product from themetabolism of amino acids. The end point is a hyperosmolar solution carrying waste for storage in the bladder prior to urination. Humans produce about 2.9 litres of urine over 24 hours, although this amount may vary according to circumstances. Because the rate of filtration at the kidney is proportional to the glomerular filtration rate, which is in turn related to the blood flow through the kidney, changes in body fluid status can affect kidney function. Hormones exogenous and endogenous to the kidney alter the amount of blood flowing through the glomerulus. Some medications interfere directly or indirectly with urine production. Diuretics achieve this by altering the amount of absorbed or excreted electrolytes or osmalites, which causes a diuresis.

Urinary System: Normal Anatomy & Physiology

The basic process of normal urination (or "micturition") can be broken down to: 1. Urine is made in the kidneys 2. Urine is stored in the bladder 3. The sphincter muscles relax 4. The bladder muscle (detrusor) contracts 5. The bladder is emptied through the urethra and urine is removed from the body. Of course, beyond those 5 steps there are elaborate layers of control. The picture on the right is a "snapshot" of the

bladder during the urine storage phase. The text below explains the micturition process, and there is a more indepth animated graphic at the bottom of the page. We invite you to "interact" with it to explore some of the more complex issues that arise when a person has a spinal cord injury. The bladder is composed of bands of interlaced smooth muscle (detrusor). The innervation of the body of the bladder is different from that of the bladder neck. The body is rich in beta adrenergic receptors. These receptors are stimulated by thesympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Beta stimulation, via fibers of the hypogastric nerve, suppress contraction of the detrusor. Conversely, parasympathetic stimulation, by fibers in the pelvic nerve, cause the detrusor to contract. Sympathetic stimulation is predominant during bladder filling, and the parasympathetic causes emptying. Two sphincters control the bladder outlet. The internal sphincter is composed of smooth muscle like the detrusor and extends into the bladder neck. Like the detrusor, the internal sphincter is controlled by the ANS and is normally closed. The primary receptors in the bladder neck are alpha-adrenergic. Sympatheticstimulation of these alpha receptors, via fibers in the hypogastric nerve, contributes to urinary continence. The external sphincter is histologically different from the detrusor and internal sphincter. It is striated muscle. Like skeletal muscle, it's under voluntary control. It receives its innervation from the pudendal nerve, arising from the ventral horns of the sacral cord. During micturition, supraspinal centers block stimulation by the hypogastric and pudendal nerves. This relaxes the internal and external sphincters and removes the sympathetic inhibition of the parasympathetic receptors. The result is unobstructed passage of urine when the detrusor contracts. The ureters pass between the layers of the detrusor and enter the bladder through the trigone. The ureters propel urine into the bladder. The bladder passively expands to accept urine. As the bladder expands and intravesicular pressure increases, the ureters are compressed between the layers of muscle, creating a valve mechanism. This valve mechanism limits the backflow of urine. The normal adult bladder can hold about 500 cc of urine. After emptying, the bladder may still retain about 50 cc residual volume. At about 150 cc of volume, stretch receptors in the detrusor begin signaling the CNS via afferent nerves; at 400 cc we are "seeking" an appropriate toilet

Summary: Normally, we are able to control where and when we void. This is largely because the cerebrum is able to suppress the sacral micturition reflex. If the sacral reflex is unrestrained, parasympathetic stimulation via the pelvic nerve causes detrusor contraction. Detrusor contraction is suppressed by alpha and betasympathetic stimulation via the hypogastric nerve. In response to afferent stimulation, the cerebrum becomes aware of the need to void. If it is appropriate, the cerebrum relaxes the external sphincter, blocks sympathetic inhibition, the bladder contracts and urine is expelled. Instant Feedback: Sympathetic stimulation inhibits detrusor contraction, while parasympathetic stimulation causes detrusor contraction.
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