HA Notes

URINARY SYSTEM
- Constantly removes waste from our bodies by forming urine.
- Maintains normal blood composition.
- Made up of :
o Pair of kidneys
o Pair of ureters
o Urinary bladder
o Urethra

Kidneys
- Responsible for removing nitrogenous waste, it removes these waste by
forming urine
- Maintains an healthy acid-base fluid balance in the blood
- Two bean shaped Organs
- Located in the superior lumbar region
- It has 3 Regions:
o Outer Renal Cortex
o Middle Renal Medulla
o Inner Renal Pelvis
- Main structures that made up the kidneys are tiny blood processing units
called Nephrons, also considered as the functional units of the kidneys.
There are over 1 million Nephrons in each kidney.
o Each Nephron are made up of:
 Renal Corpuscle – responsible for glomerular filtration (first
process of urine fomartion)
 Made up of two structures:
o Glomerulus (one of the structures that makes up a
nephron)
o Glomerular (bowman’s capsule)
 Renal Tubules – selectively reabsorbed water and other
substances (e.g. Sodium and Potassium, Calcium and other
important stuff needed in the body). Also secretes waste no
longer need in the body.
 Divided in to three regions:
o Proximal Convoluted Tubules
o Loop of Henle
o Distal Convoluted Tubules – when the urine exits
the DCT, it is collected in the Collecting Duct.
This delivers urine to the renal pelvis, then flows
in to the ureter.
Ureters
- Connected to the kidneys
- Really thin
- Conduct urine from kidneys to urinary bladder
Urinary Bladder
- Is a collapsible muscular sac
- It lies behind and below the pubic symphysis (cartilage that connects the
sides of the pelvis).
- It temporarily store urine that is constantly produced by the kidneys
- Makes Micturition( the act of emptying the bladder)
Urethra
- Muscular tube that transports urine from the bladder to the outside world.
- Contains two muscular structures called Sphincters
o Internal Urethral Sphincters – is a smooth muscle and is under
involuntary control.
o External Urethral Sphincters – is a skeletal muscle and is under
voluntary control.
- Male has an 8 inch urethra while females has a 1 and half inch.
- Male urethra conducts urine and semen while the female conducts only urine
- Makes Micturition (the act of emptying the bladder)
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
- Regulates reproduction, growth immunity and other bodily processes in the
body
- Maintains a stables environment for the body called Homeostasis. Helps all
the other organs to function properly.
- Organs of the endocrine system are small and dispersed throughout the body
- Responsible for producing chemicals called Hormones.
- Hormones
o are chemical messengers
o Secreted and carried by the bloodstream and they travel to the
individual target cells that they act on.
o They bind to specific receptors on target cells to alter a specific
activity.
- Major Endocrine Organs:
o Pituitary gland
 Also called the master gland
 Hormones released by it direct the activity of almost all other
endocrine organs.
 Located below the Hypothalamus and also connected to it by
the Infundibulum.
 Divided in to two:
 Posterior Lobe
o Made of up of nerve fibers
o Acts as a storage area for two hormones produced
by the Hypothalamus.
o Hormones:
 Oxytocin – Initiates uterine contractions
during labor.
 Anti-diuretic Hormone (Vasopressin) – to
stimulate the reabsorption of water from
the collecting tubules
 Anterior Lobe
o Manufactures hormones called Tropic Hormones.
o Cells that produced hormones in the anterior lobe:
 Somatotrophs – Growth Hormone
(Stimulates growth in bone and muscles)
 Too little GH in childhood, dwarfism
occurs
 Too much GH in childhood,
Gigantism occurs
  Too much GH in adults, Acromegaly
occurs
 Thyrotrophs – Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
 Carticotrophs – Adreno Corticotrophic
Hormone
 Lactotrophs – Prolactin
 Gonadotrophs – Follicle Stimulating
Hormone and Leutinizing Hormone
o Thyroid gland
 Butterfly shaped organ
 Located in the neck, anterior to trachea
 Thyroid hormones increases metabolic rate, and oxygen
consumption in most cells of the body.
 Calcitonin, regulates calcium.
o Parathyroid gland
 Tiny glands embedded in the back of Thyroid Gland
 Secretes Parathyroid Hormones or PTH (important in calcium
and phosphate regulation)
o Adrenal gland
 Triangular shaped glands located on top of each kidney.
 Each gland is made up of two endocrine glands:
 Outer Adrenal Cortex
o Secretes glucocoriticoids, mineralocarticoids,
androgens
 Inner Adrenal Medulla
o Made up of nervous tissue
o Secretes catecholamines which made up of
epinephrine and norepinephrine
o Pancreas
 Yellow tad pole shaped gland, located near the Duodenum and
the small intestine.
 Aids in digestion
 Produces the hormones that is responsible of the regulation of
hormones in the body.
 Insulin
 Glucagon
 Somatostatin
o Gonads
 Females – Ovaries. Hormones: Estrogen, and Progesterone
 Males – Testes. Hormones: Androgens (e.g. Testosterone)
 Produces sex hormones that regulates reproductive functions
o Pineal Gland
o Thymus Gland
 Located posterior to the sternum
 It regresses with age, larger and more noticeable in infants than
in adults.
 Produces two major hormones, which helps T-Lymphocytes
mature and become Immuno-competent (involved in the
Immune System)
 Thymosin
 Thymopoietin
- Endrocine organs that belong to other systems:
o Heart
  Produces the hormone Atrial Natriuretic Peptide which
decreases blood pressure.
o Kidneys
 Produces the hormone Erythropoietin which increase Red Blood
Cell Production.
o Gastrointestinal Tract
 Produces a Digestive Hormones which regulates digestion
 Gastrin
 Cholecystokinin
o Skin
 Produces the chemical called Cholecalciferol which is the
precursor of the vitamin D3 (helps the body absorb calcium).
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
- This produces offspring and perpetuate genes.
- Gonads
o Primary reproductive organs for males and females
 Male Gonads – testes
 Female Gonads – Ovaries
o Responsible of produces gametes (sex cells)
 Male Sex Cells – Sperm
 Female Sex Cells – Ova or Egg Cell
o Male and female sex cells fuse together to form Zygote.
- Sex Hormones
o Control Activity and maturation of the reproductive system.
- Male Reproductive Anatomy
o Testes (Male Gonads)
 Primary male sex organ
 Produces sperm and androgen
 Testosterone
 Dominant male hormone
 In charge of reproductive maturation, puberty, male sex
drive (libido) and sperm production.
o Male Duct System
 Transport sperm form the testes to the outside world
 Made up of 4 parts:
 Epididymis
o Located in the posterior surface of each testes
 Vas Deferens
o Directly connects to the epididymis
o Ampulla is where the sperm is stored prior to
ejaculation.
o Ampulla is directly connect to the ejaculatory duct.
 Ejaculatory Duct
o It passes through to a structure called prostate
gland and eventually in to the urethra.
 Urethra
o It carries both urine and semen
o Part of the urine and reproductive system
o Sperm always go out first over urine
 Male accessory glands
o Produce a fluid that helps transport sperm
 o Also makes chemicals and nutrients that nourishes
sperm
o Protects and help sperm move
o These fluids and nutrients together with the sperm
is called semen.
o Semen (seminal fluid) is 1% sperm and 99%
accessory gland fluid
o Seminal vesicles
 Located posterior to bladder.
 This produces a yellowish thick fluid that
goes down the ejaculatory duct. This
contains all the nourishments needed for
the sperm
o Prostate gland
 Produces a milky fluid that enters the
urethra. This fluid helps in sperm
movement.
o Bulbourethral gland (Cowper’s Gland)
 Produces a thick clear mucus that enters
the urethra.
 The mucus is release right before
ejaculation, to neutralize traces of acidic
urine in the urethra.
o Male External Structure of the Genital
 Penis
 is design to deliver the sperm in to the female
reproductive tract
 male copulatory organ
 It’s made up of an attached root and a shaft
 Majority of it is made up of erectile tissue
o Erectile tissue fills up with blood during an
erection, this allows the penis to effortlessly
penetrate the vagina
 Scrotum
o Pouch of darkly pigmented skin, suspended near
the root of the penis
o Houses the testes in two compartments
o Tries to provide an optimal environment for sperm
production. Maintains a temperature that is 3
degrees lower than body temperature.
- Female Reproductive Anatomy
o Ovaries (Female Gonads)
 Primary female sex organs
 Produces the Ova or Egg cell
 Eggs produce Estrogen and Progesterone
 Estrogen is the female sex hormone, responsible for
female puberty and the maturation of the reproductive
system
 Progesterone acts with estrogen to help develop the
breast and jump starts menstruation. This also maintains
the right environment in the uterus for the implantation
or growth of a zygote.
o Female Duct System
 Uterine Tubes (Fallopian Tubes)
  Receive and conduct the ovum from the ovaries and
towards the uterus.
 This is where fertilization takes place
 Uterus
 Hallow organ with thick walls
 It is the sight of implantation of a zygote
 Receives, Retain and nourish a fertilized egg
 The Uterus leads in to the vagina through an opening
called the cervix.
 It has different layers:
o Perimetrium (outer layer)
o Myometrium (thick muscular, middle layer)
o Endometrium (Inner Layer)
 Sight where embryos are implanted
 The upper or the superior layer of the
endometrium is called the functional layer.
This is the layer that crumbles away during
menstruation.
 The walls is regenerated and replaced, in
the underlying sub layer called the Basal
layer.
 Vagina
 Thin walled tube
 Female copulatory organ
 Passage way of baby delivery and menstrual flow
o Female External Genital (Vulva)
 Made up of the following:
 Mons Pubis
o Fatty round tissue over lining the pubic bone
o Where the pubic hair is found
 Labia Majora
o Is pigmented and hair covered
 Labia Minora
o Thin delicate
o Inner folds
o That is covered by a thin layer of mucous
membrane and oil
o Completely enclosed by the Labia Majora
 Vestibule
o Inner region completely enclosed by the Labia
Minora
o This area contains the greater and lesser
vestibular glands (these are like the bulbourethral
glands of the males), releases mucus into the
vestibules to lubricate it during sexual intercourse
 Clitoris
o Female erectile organ
o Contributes to female arousal
o Protruding structure made up of erectile tissue.
o It has two roots and also has a shaft
o It has full of nerve endings
 Breast
o Mammary glands
  Modified sweat glands inside the breasts
 Produces milk that nourishes a new born
baby.
 Milk is produce by small glands and carried
by nipples to a system of ducts
o Nipple
 Is a structure that ejects milk
 It has Areola, which is the around the
nipple, this contains sebaceous glands that
prevents the nipples from drying up. It has
a dark area, which helps the infants locate
the milk.