ANAPHY111
11
Dr. Ma. Luisa Crisostomo / First Semester
Transcriber: Kathleen Venus
THE URINARY SYSTEM
OUTLINE
I. The Urinary System
II. Organs
a. Kidney
i. Nephron
b. Ureter
c. Urinary Bladder
d. Urethra
i. Male Urethra
ii. Female Urethra
III. Urine Formation and Characteristics
IV. Micturition
TERMINOLOGIES
Hormone that causes the
distal convoluted tubule to
retain sodium, which
Aldosterone
leads to the retention of
water, resulting in
increased blood pressure
A plasma protein produced
when renin is released from
the kidney;
Angiotensin
angiotensin II stimulates
the adrenal glands to
secrete aldosterone
Hormone that inhibits
diuresis by stimulating the
Antidiuretic hormone
kidneys to
conserve water
Two layers of epithelial
cells that envelop the
Bowman’s capsule glomerulus in an open-
ended covering; also called
a glomerular capsule
A cup-like structure that
Calyx collects urine leaving the
papilla of the kidney
Receives drainage from the
distal convoluted tubules of
Collecting duct several different
nephrons; eventually drains
into a minor calyx
Detrusor muscle Wall of the bladder
The secretion of large
Diuresis
amounts of urine
Cluster of capillaries that
Glomerulus are part of the renal
corpuscles in the nephrons
Concave notch on medial
side of kidney; where blood
Hilum vessels, the ureters, and
nerves enter and leave the
kidney
U-shaped portion of the
Loop of Henle
renal tubule
Micturition Urination
The filtration units of the
Nephrons
kidney
Network of capillaries
Peritubular capillaries surrounding the renal
tubules
One of the main
Renal corpuscles components of nephrons,
consisting of a glomerulus
FINALS
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and Bowman’s capsule,
that filters blood plasma
Outer region of the kidney;
Renal cortex
site of urine production
Inner region of the kidney;
Renal medulla
site of urine collection
Series of tube-like
structures within the
Renal tubules
nephron; where urine is
formed
Enzyme released by the
kidneys in response to a
drop in blood pressure that
Renin
causes the conversion of
angiotensinogen into
angiotensin I
Measurement that indicates
Specific gravity the amount of solid matter
in a liquid
Process whereby
chemicals are removed
Tubular resorption from filtrate in the renal
tubules and returned to the
blood
Process whereby
chemicals are added to the
Tubular secretion
filtrate in the renal
tubules
Muscular tubes connecting
Ureters the renal pelvis of each
kidney with the bladder
Small tube that conveys
Urethra urine away from the
bladder and out of the body
Collapsible muscular sac
Urinary bladder that stores urine
THE URINARY SYSTEM
- Composed of the following:
o Kidney
o Ureter
o Urinary Bladder
o Urethra
- Functions:
o Kidneys dispose of waste products in urine
o Kidneys’ regulatory functions include:
- Production of renin to maintain
blood pressure
- Production of erythropoietin to
stimulate red blood cell
production
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- Conversion of vitamin D to its
active form
[ANPH111] 1.12 THE URINARY SYSTEM – Dr. Ma. Luisa Crisostomo
ORGANS
KIDNEY
- Paired
- Reddish brown in appearance
- It has the following coverings:
o Renal Capsule: immediate covering of the
o kidney
o Perirenal Fat or Perinephric Fat: around
the renal capsule
o Renal fascia or Gerota’s fascia: external to
perirenal fat; continuous with transversalis
fascia
o Pararenal or Paranephric Fat: outermost
- 2 parts of kidney:
o Cortex: outer
o Medulla: inner
- Renal Pyramids: triangle
- Renal Column: extension of
cortex towards the medulla;
between the pyramids
- Renal Pelvis: union of major
calyces
- Major Calyx: union of minor
calyces
NEPHRON
- Structural and functional unit of the kidney
- 1 million nephron each kidney
- Each nephron consists of two main structures:
o Renal corpuscle
- Glomerulus: A knot of capillaries
made of podocyte
- Glomerular (Bowman’s) capsule
is a cup-shaped structure that
surrounds the glomerulus
o Renal tubule
- Extends from glomerular capsule
and ends when it empties into the
collecting duct
- From the glomerular (Bowman’s)
capsule, the subdivisions of the
renal tubule are:
• Proximal convoluted
tubule (PCT)
• Nephron loop (loop of
Henle)
• Distal convoluted tubule
(DCT)
- Cortical nephrons
- Located entirely in the cortex
- Include most nephrons
- Juxtamedullary nephrons
- Found at the cortex-medulla
junction
- Nephron loop dips deep into the
medulla
- Collecting ducts collect urine
from both types of nephrons,
through the renal pyramids, to the
calyces, and then to the renal
pelvis
- Two capillary beds associated with each nephron
o Glomerulus
- Fed and drained by arterioles
▪ Afferent Arteriole: arises from a
cortical radiate artery and feeds the
glomerulus
▪ Efferent Arteriole: receives blood that
has passed through the glomerulus
- Specialized for filtration
- High pressure forces fluid and solutes out of
blood and into the glomerular capsule
o Peritubular capillary bed
- Arise from the efferent arteriole of the
glomerulus
- Low-pressure, porous capillaries
- Adapted for absorption instead of filtration
- Cling close to the renal tubule to receive
solutes and water from tubule cells
- Drain into the interlobar veins
URETER
- 10 inches long muscular tube
- 3 anatomical constrictions:
o at the uretero-pelvic junction
o where iliac vessels cross the ureter
o where it joins the urinary bladder
URINARY BLADDER
- Hollow muscular organ
- Temporary storage of urine
- Will contain folds called rugae; without rugae called
trigone – smooth area
- Inner – trigone occupied by ureteral orifices and
urethral orifice
- Wall of the urinary bladder
o Three layers of smooth muscle collectively
called the detrusor muscle
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o Mucosa made of transitional epithelium
[ANPH111] 1.12 THE URINARY SYSTEM – Dr. Ma. Luisa Crisostomo
o Walls are thick and folded in an empty
urinary bladder
o Urinary bladder can expand significantly
without increasing internal pressure
- Capacity of the urinary bladder
o A moderately full bladder is about 5 inches
long and holds about 500 ml of urine
o Capable of holding twice that amount of
urine
URETHRA
- Thin-walled tube that carries urine from the urinary
bladder to the outside of the body by peristalsis
- Release of urine is controlled by two sphincters
o Internal urethral sphincter: Involuntary and
made of smooth muscle
o External urethral sphincter: Voluntary and
made of skeletal muscle
MALE URETHRA
1. Prostatic Urethra
- widest, most dilatable, prostate gland
2. Membranous Urethra
- traverses’ urogenital diaphragm, shortest and least
dilatable
3. Penile (Spongy) Urethra
- longest, traverses corpus spongiosum
FEMALE URETHRA
- About 3 to 4 cm (1.5 inches long)
- Located anterior to the vaginal opening
URINE FORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS
Urine formation is the result of three processes
1. Glomerular filtration
- The glomerulus is a filter
- Filtration is a nonselective passive process
o Water and solutes smaller than proteins
are forced through glomerular capillary
walls
o Proteins and blood cells are normally too
large to pass through the filtration
membrane
o Once in the capsule, fluid is called filtrate
o Filtrate leaves via the renal tubule
- Filtrate will be formed as long as systemic blood
pressure is normal
o If arterial blood pressure is too low, filtrate
formation stops because glomerular
pressure will be too low to form filtrate
2. Tubular reabsorption
- The peritubular capillaries reabsorb useful
substances from the renal tubule cells, such as:
o Water
o Glucose
o Amino acids
o Ions
- Some reabsorption is passive; most is active (ATP)
- Most reabsorption occurs in the proximal
convoluted tubule
3. Tubular secretion
- Reabsorption in reverse
- Some materials move from the blood of the
peritubular capillaries into the renal tubules to be
eliminated in filtrate
o Hydrogen and potassium ions
o Creatinine
- Secretion is important for:
o Getting rid of substances not already in the
filtrate
o Removing drugs and excess ions
o Maintaining acid-base balance of blood
- Materials left in the renal tubule move toward the
ureter
o Nitrogenous wastes
▪ Nitrogenous waste products are
poorly reabsorbed, if at all
▪ Tend to remain in the filtrate and
are excreted from the body in the
urine
• Urea: end product of
protein breakdown
• Uric acid: results from
nucleic acid metabolism
• Creatinine: associated
with creatine metabolism
in muscles
- In 24 hours, about 1.0 to 1.8 liters of urine are
produced
Urine and filtrate are different
- Filtrate contains everything that blood plasma does
(except proteins)
- Urine is what remains after the filtrate has lost most
of its water, nutrients, and necessary ions through
reabsorption
- Urine contains nitrogenous wastes and substances
that are not needed
Urine characteristics
- Clear and pale to deep yellow in color
- Yellow color is normal and due to the pigment
urochrome (from the destruction of hemoglobin) and
solutes
o Dilute urine is a pale, straw color
- Sterile at the time of formation
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- Slightly aromatic, but smells like ammonia with time
[ANPH111] 1.12 THE URINARY SYSTEM – Dr. Ma. Luisa Crisostomo
- Slightly acidic (pH of 6)
- Specific gravity of 1.001 to 1.035
Solutes normally found in urine
- Sodium and potassium ions
- Urea
- Uric acid
- creatinine
- Ammonia
- Bicarbonate ions
Solutes NOT normally found in urine
- Glucose
- Blood proteins
- Red blood cells
- Hemoglobin
- WBCs (pus)
- Bile

MICTURITION
- Voiding, or emptying of the urinary bladder
- Two sphincters control the release of urine, the
internal urethral sphincter and external urethral
sphincter
o Bladder collects urine to 200 ml
o Stretch receptors transmit impulses to the
sacral region of the spinal cord
o Impulses travel back to the bladder via the
pelvic splanchnic nerves to cause bladder
contractions
o When contractions become stronger, urine
is forced past the involuntary internal
sphincter into the upper urethra
o Urge to void is felt
o The external sphincter is voluntarily
controlled, so micturition can usually be
o delayed
o Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance
o Blood composition depends on three
factors
▪ Diet
▪ Cellular metabolism
▪ Urine output

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