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Urinary system
Manyofthebodyswasteproductsarepassedoutofthebodyinurine.Theurinarysystemismade upofkidneys,bladder,uretersandtheurethra. Kidneys Thehumanbodyhastwokidneys,oneoneithersideofthemiddleback,justundertheribs.Each kidneycontainsthousandsofsmallfilterscallednephrons.Eachnephronhasameshofcapillaries, connectingittothebodysbloodsupply.Around180litresofbloodsievethroughthekidneys everyday.Themainfunctionsofthekidneyinclude: Regulatingtheamountofwaterandsaltsintheblood Filteringoutwasteproducts Makingahormonethathelpstocontrolbloodpressure.
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Ureters Eachkidneyhasatubecalledaureter.Thefilteredwasteproducts(urine)leavethekidneysvia theuretersandenterthebladder. Bladder Thebladderisaholloworganthatsitsinsidethepelvis.Itstorestheurine.Whenacertainamount ofurineisinsidethebladder,thebladdersignalstheurgetourinate.Urinecontainswaterand wasteproductslikeureaandammonia. Urethra Theurethraisthesmalltubeconnectingthebladdertotheoutsideofthebody.Themaleurethra isabout20centimetreslong,whilethefemaleurethraisshorter,aboutfourcentimetres.Atthe urethrasconnectiontothebladderisasmallringofmuscle,orsphincter.Thisstopsurinefrom leakingout. Common problems Someofthemorecommonproblemsoftheurinarysysteminclude: Bladder infections-(cystitis)usuallycausedbybacteria. Enlarged prostate-inmen,thiscanmakeitdifficulttoemptythebladder. Incontinence-whenurineleaksoutoftheurethra. Kidney infections-whenabladderinfectionbacksuptheureters. Kidney stones-causedbyinfectionandhighbloodlevelsofcalcium.
Things to remember Kidneysfilterandregulatetheblood. Mostwasteproductsareremovedfromthebodybytheurinarysystem. Wasteproductsarepassedinurine.
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