Urinary System

Done by:

Mohammed Jasim
Huda Ehsan
Howrah Jaber
Zainab Uday
Ayat Raad
 Introduction:
• The urinary system is the organ system of the
body that plays a major role in maintaining the
salt, water, and pH homeostasis of the blood.
Collectively these organs carry out the process of
excretion

• Excretion in humans is performed by the

formation and discharge of urine from the body.
 Major Functions:
Excretion of Metabolic Wastes:
The metabolic waste of humans consists
primarily of nitrogenous waste, such as urea,
creatinine, ammonium, and uric acid.
Urea, a waste product of amino acid metabolism
In the liver, the break- down of amino acids
releases ammonia, a compound that is very toxic
to cells. The liver rapidly combines the ammonia
with carbon dioxide to produce urea.
 Elevated urea levels in the
blood may cause uremia, a
condition that causes
cardiac arrhythmia
vomiting, respiratory
problems.

 Crystals of uric acid

sometimes collect in the
joints, producing a painful
ailment called gout.
 Maintenance of Water-Salt Balance:
• A principal function of the kidneys is to maintain the
water-salt balance of the blood.
• As you know, salts, such as NaCl, have the ability to
influence the rate and direction of osmosis Therefore,
the more salts there are in the blood, the greater the
blood volume and the greater the blood pressure
• By regulating the concentration of certain ions, namely
sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+), in the blood, the
kidneys regulate blood pressure.
• the blood pH should be just about 7.4. The kidneys
monitor and help control blood pH, mainly by
• excreting hydrogen ions (H+) and reabsorbing the
bicarbonate ions (HCO3–) as needed to keep blood
pH at 7.4
• Urine usually has a pH of 6 or lower, because our
diet often contains acidic foods.
• The kidneys assist the endocrine system in hormone
secretion
• The kidneys release renin, an enzyme that leads to
aldosterone secretion.
• Aldosterone is a hormone produced by the adrenal
glands, which lie atop the kidneys
• aldosterone is involved in regulating the water- salt
balance of the blood
• The kidneys also release erythropoietin (EPO), a
hormone that regulates the production of red blood
cells.
 Additional Functions of the Kidneys:

The kidneys also reabsorb filtered nutrients and

participate in the synthesis of vitamin D. Vitamin D is a
hormone that promotes calcium ion (Ca2+) absorption
from the digestive tract ( activated form again acts like a
hormone to regulate calcium metabolism).
 Organs of the Urinary System:

• The urinary system

consists of the
kidneys, ureters,
urinary bladder, and
urethra.
 Kidneys
• The kidneys are a pair of organs located one on each
side of the vertebral column at the same level of the
lower back.
• where they receive some protection from the lower rib
cage
• Due to the shape of the liver, the right kidney is
positioned slightly lower than the left
• organs are covered by a tough capsule of fibrous
connective tissue, called a renal capsule.
• The concave side of a kidney has a depression where a
renal artery enters and a renal vein and a ureter exit the
kidney.
 Kidney Structure
The three regions of a kidney:
• The renal cortex is an outer, granulated layer that dips
down in between a radially striated inner layer called
the renal medulla.
• The renal medulla consists of cone-shaped tissue masses
called renal pyramids.
• The renal pelvis is a central space, or cavity, continuous
with the ureter
Microscopically, the kidney is composed of over 1 million
nephrons
 The nephrons:
• are the functional units of the kidneys, nephron
has two main parts – tubules and corpuscles.
• The cup-shaped corpuscles contain the
glomeruli.
• The tubules are small tubes traveling through the
inner part of the kidney that regulate the passage
of various chemicals to and from the blood.
• arteriole transports
blood to the
glomerulus (a knot of
capillaries inside the
glomerular capsule. )
• Blood leaving the
glomerulus is carried
away by the efferent
arteriole
 What is a floating kidney?
• A floating kidney, a condition also known as nephroptosis.
• occurs when the kidney becomes detached from its position and
moves freely beneath the peritoneum.
• A floating kidney may develop in people who are very thin or in
someone who has recently received a sharp blow to the back.
• When the kidney becomes dislodged, it may form a kink in the
ureter, causing urine to back up into the kidney. This can result in
damage to the structures inside the kidney.
• Surgery can correct a floating kidney by reattaching it to the
abdominal wall.
 Ureters
• The ureters conduct urine from the kidneys to the
bladder. They are small, muscular tubes about 25 cm
long and 5 mm in diameter. The wall of a ureter has
three layers.
The urinary bladder
• stores urine until it is expelled from the body. The
bladder has three openings: two for the ureters and
one for the urethra
• The bladder wall is expandable, because it contains a
middle layer of circular fibers of smooth muscle and
two layers of longitudinal smooth muscle.
• The urinary bladder has a maximum capacity of
between 700 and 800 ml.

• The bladder has other features that allow it to retain

urine. After urine enters the bladder from a ureter,
small folds of bladder mucosa act as a valve to
prevent backward flow.
• The internal sphincter occurs around the opening to
the urethra. It is composed of smooth muscle and is
involuntarily controlled. An external sphincter is
composed of skeletal muscle that can be voluntarily
controlled
 Urethra
• The urethra is a small tube that extends from the
urinary bladder to an external opening. Its
function is to remove urine from the body.
• The urethra has a different length in females than
in males. In females, the urethra is about 4 cm
long. The short length of the female urethra
makes bacterial invasion of the urinary tract
easier.
 Diuretics
• Diuretics are chemicals that increase the flow of urine.
• Drinking alcohol causes diuresis, because it inhibits the
secretion of ADH. The dehydration that follows is
believed to contribute to the symptoms of a hangover.
• Caffeine is a diuretic, because it increases the
glomerular filtration rate and decreases the tubular
reabsorption of sodium ions (Na+)
• Diuretic drugs developed to counteract high blood
pressure also decrease the tubular reabsorption of Na+.
A decrease in water reabsorption and a decrease in
blood volume and pressure follow.
 Urinary System Disorders
• Many types of illnesses — especially diabetes,
hypertension, and inherited conditions—cause
progressive renal disease and renal failure.
• Infections are also contributory.
• If the infection is localized in the urethra, it is called
urethritis.
• If the infection invades the urinary bladder, it is called
cystitis.
• Finally, if the kidneys are affected, the infection is called
pyelonephritis.
 what is the Megaureter?
• Megaureter is the medical
term for an enlarged ureter

• The condition often has no

symptoms and in infants,
may clear up on its own. In
older children, megaureter
can cause urinary tract
infections (UTIs). In some
cases it can cause kidney
damage.
 kidney stones
• Urinary tract infections, an enlarged prostate
gland pH imbalances, or an intake of too much
calcium can lead to kidney stones
• Kidney stones are hard granules made of
calcium, phosphate, uric acid, and protein
• Kidney stones form in the renal pelvis and
usually pass unnoticed in the urine flow, if they
block the renal pelvis or ureter, a reverse
pressure builds up and destroys nephrons.
• One of the first signs of nephron damage is albumin,
white blood cells, or even red blood cells in the urine
• Although nitrogenous wastes can cause serious
damage, the retention of water and salts is of even
greater concern.
• If damage is so extensive that more than two-thirds of
the nephrons, urea and other waste substances
accumulate in the blood. This condition is called
uremia.
 Urinary Difficulties Due to an Enlarged
Prostate
• The prostate gland, part of the male
reproductive system, surrounds the urethra at
the point where the urethra leaves the urinary
bladder.
• prostate gland often begins to enlarge As it
enlarges, the prostate squeezes the urethra,
causing urine to back up first into the bladder,
then into the ureters, and finally, perhaps, into
the kidneys.
 Hemodialysis
• Patients with renal failure can undergo
hemodialysis.
• Hemodialysis using an artificial kidney machine.
• 50–250 g of urea can be removed from a patient,
which greatly exceeds the amount excreted by
normal kidneys. Therefore, a patient needs to
undergo treatment only about twice a week.