Anatomy and Function of the Urinary System

How does the urinary system work?

The physique takes vitamins from meals and adjustments them to power. After the physique has taken the meals elements that it wants, waste merchandise are left behind within the bowel and within the blood.

The kidney and urinary techniques assist the physique to do away with liquid waste referred to as urea. Additionally they assist to preserve chemical substances (akin to potassium and sodium) and water in steadiness. Urea is made when meals containing protein (akin to meat, poultry, and sure greens) are damaged down within the physique. Urea is carried within the blood to the kidneys. That is the place it’s eliminated, together with water and different wastes within the type of urine.

The kidneys produce other necessary features. They management blood strain and make the hormone erythropoietin. This hormone controls purple blood cell manufacturing within the bone marrow. The kidneys additionally management the acid-base steadiness and preserve fluids.

Kidney and urinary system components and their features

The kidneys take away urea from the blood by tiny filtering models referred to as nephrons. Every nephron consists of a ball fashioned of small blood capillaries (glomerulus) and a small tube referred to as a renal tubule. Urea, along with water and different waste substances, varieties the urine because it passes by the nephrons and down the renal tubules of the kidney.

• Two ureters. These slender tubes carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Muscular tissues within the ureter partitions preserve tightening and stress-free. This forces urine downward, away from the kidneys. If urine backs up, or is allowed to face nonetheless, a kidney an infection can develop. About each 10 to fifteen seconds, small quantities of urine are emptied into the bladder from the ureters.

• Bladder. This triangle-shaped, hole organ is situated within the decrease stomach. It is held in place by ligaments which can be connected to different organs and the pelvic bones. The bladder’s partitions chill out and increase to retailer urine. They contract and flatten to empty urine by the urethra. The everyday wholesome grownup bladder can retailer as much as 2 cups of urine for two to five hours.

• Two sphincter muscular tissues. These round muscular tissues assist preserve urine from leaking by closing tightly like a rubber band across the opening of the bladder.

• Nerves within the bladder. The nerves alert an individual when it is time to urinate, or empty the bladder.

• Urethra. This tube permits urine to cross outdoors the physique. The mind alerts the bladder muscular tissues to tighten. This squeezes urine out of the bladder. On the similar time, the mind alerts the sphincter muscular tissues to chill out to let urine exit the bladder by the urethra. When all of the alerts occur within the right order, regular urination occurs.

Information about urine

• Regular, wholesome urine is a pale straw or clear yellow shade.

• Darker yellow or honey-colored urine typically means you want extra water.

• A darker, brownish shade might imply a liver drawback or extreme dehydration.

• Pinkish or purple urine might imply blood within the urine.