Urogenital System

Joshua Evans M. Bajao, MSc

Urogenital System
• Also called as the genitourinary system
• Organs or organ systems concerned
with urinary excretion and reproduction
• Consists of:
• Urinary/excretory System
• Reproductive System
Urinary System
Water and solute balance in the Body
• Animals consist mostly of water with many
dissolved salts and other solutes
• To retain homeostasis, the body must keep the
solute composition of the extracellular matrix
within normal range
• Homeostasis – tendency towards relative stable
equilibrium. In biology, defined as a stable state of an
organism and its internal environment
• Osmoregulation – controlling the solute
concentrations and balance water gain/loss
Urinary System
Animals can maintain water balance in one
of two ways
• Osmoconformers are isoosmotic with
their surroundings and do not regulate
their osmolarity
• Osmoregulators expend energy to control
water uptake and loss in a hyperosmotic
or hypoosmotic environment
Urinary System
Urinary System
• Some aquatic invertebrates in temporary ponds lose almost all their body
water and survive in a dormant state. This adaptation is called anhydrobiosis
• Tardigrades (water bears) can dehydrate from about 85% water to 2% water in
the dehydrated, inactive state
Urinary System
• The type and quantity of an animal’s waste
products may greatly affect its water balance
Example: breakdown of proteins produces ammonia
• Ammonia (NH3) is a naturally occurring
compound. At room temperature, NH3 is
a colorless, highly irritating gas with a
pungent and suffocating odor.
• Most animals have organs that rid their
body of waste ammonia and other
unwanted solutes
Urinary System: Conversion of Ammonia
• Ammonia, due to its toxicity, are
converted into either urea or uric
acid in order for it to be stored
• Urea – can be stored. However,
requires water for disposal
• Uric Acid – are safer than ammonia
and urea. Hence, can be disposed
without needing a copious amount
of water
Urinary System: Conversion of Ammonia
• Ammonia, due to its toxicity, are
converted into either urea or uric
acid in order for it to be stored
• Urea – can be stored. However,
requires water for disposal
• Uric Acid – are safer than ammonia
and urea. Hence, can be disposed
without needing a copious amount
of water
 The Influence of Evolution and
Environment on Nitrogenous Wastes
• The kind of nitrogenous wastes
excreted depends on an animal’s
evolutionary history and habitat,
especially water availability
• Another factor is the immediate
environment of the animal egg
• The amount of nitrogenous waste is
coupled to the animal’s energy budget
Urinary System
• Most excretory systems produce urine by
refining a filtrate derived from body fluids
• Key functions of most excretory systems
• Filtration: Filtering of body fluids
• Reabsorption: Reclaiming valuable solutes
• Secretion: Adding nonessential solutes and
wastes to the filtrate
• Excretion: Processed filtrate containing
nitrogenous wastes is released from the body
Urinary System
Primitive Animals
• Nephridium – tubular organ of primitive
invertebrates that takes up body fluid at one
end and expels excess water and unwanted
solutes at the other end
• Two Types:
• Protonephridium
• Metanephridium
Urinary System
Primitive Animals: Two Types
• Protonephridium
• Main excretory system of primitive
invertebrates such as Platyhelminthes
(flatworms)
• The smallest branches of the network
are capped by a cellular unit called a
flame bulb
• These tubules excrete a dilute fluid
and function in osmoregulation
Urinary System
Primitive Animals: Two Types
• Metanephridium
• Metanephridia consist of tubules
that collect coelomic fluid and
produce dilute urine for excretion
• Metanephridia of earthworms
function in excretion and
osmoregulation
Urinary System
Insects and Spiders
• In insects and other terrestrial arthropods,
Malpighian tubules remove nitrogenous
wastes from hemolymph and function in
osmoregulation
• Insects produce a relatively dry waste
matter, mainly uric acid, an important
adaptation to terrestrial life
• This system is capable of conserving water
very effectively
Urinary System:
Advance organisms
Human Urinary System
• Also called as the Renal System
• The organ system that filters the
blood of unwanted metabolic
wastes
• Filtration is done in the kidney
• The one responsible for creating
urine
• Capable of eliminating 0.8-2.0mL
of urine per day
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Kidney
• Renal Cortex
• Outer section of the kidney after the
renal capsule
• Renal Medulla
• Pyramid-shaped inner structure
inside the kidney
• Urine is created through the Nephron
• the most basic/functional unit of the
kidney
• Separates water, ions, and other small
molecules from the blood
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Renal Corpuscle
• Also called as the Malpighian body
• Filtration unit of the nephron
• Consists of a knot of capillaries,
called the Glomerulus, and a
double-walled capsule, or the
Bowman’s Capsule, that drains into
a tubule
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Proximal Tubule
• Reabsorption of ions, water, and nutrients
takes place in the proximal tubule
• Molecules are transported actively and
passively from the filtrate into the interstitial
fluid and then capillaries
• As the filtrate passes through the
proximal tubule, materials to be excreted
become concentrated
• Some toxic materials are actively secreted
into the filtrate
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Loop of Henle
• U-shaped portion of a kidney tubule;
connects the proximal and distal
regions of the tubule
• Two parts: ascending and descending
loop of Henle
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Loop of Henle: Descending loop of Henle
• Reabsorption of water continues through
channels formed by aquaporin proteins
• Movement is driven by the high
osmolarity of the interstitial fluid, which
is hyperosmotic to the filtrate
• The filtrate becomes increasingly
concentrated
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Loop of Henle: Ascending loop of Henle
• In the ascending limb of the loop of
Henle, salt but not water is able to diffuse
from the tubule into the interstitial fluid
• The filtrate becomes increasingly dilute
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Distal Tubule
• The distal tubule regulates the K+ and
NaCl concentrations of body fluids
• The controlled movement of ions (H+ and
HCO3–) contributes to pH regulation
Human Urinary System
Parts of the Nephron
Collecting Tubule
• The collecting duct carries filtrate
through the medulla to the renal pelvis
• One of the most important tasks is
reabsorption of solutes and water
• Urine is hyperosmotic to body fluids
Human Urinary
System
Nephron
Human Urinary System
Nephron

The countercurrent multiplier system

involving the loop of Henle maintains a
high salt concentration in the kidney
Urination
• Urine, collected in the Renal Pelvis,
are transported through the ureter into
the bladder where it is stored
• The bladder can hold the urine for up
to 5 hours. However, as it fills with
urine and becomes larger, the bladder
will send nerve impulses to the brain
and stimulates the need to urinate.
• The urine will be expelled through the
urethra
Urination: Hormones
• Aldosterone
• that makes kidney tubules more
permeable to sodium; encourages sodium
reabsorption, leading to more water
reabsorption and more concentrated urine
• Antidiuretics
• Antidiuretic hormones from the pituitary
gland that encourages water reabsorption
in the kidney, thus concentrating the urine
• Coffee is a famous example for diuretic
substances