URINARY SYSTEM

FUNCTIONS OF URINARY
SYSTEM
• Elimination of wastes and foreign substances (toxins, drugs,
nitrogenous wastes
• Regulates blood volume and blood pressure
• Regulates plasma concentration of sodium, K, Chloride, etc
• Helps stabilize blood PH
• Conserves valuable nutrients
• Producing hormones
 Organs of Urinary system

1. KIDNEYS
2. URETERS
3. URINARY BLADDER
4. URETHRA
 KIDNEYS
• At the level of T12-L3 protected by ribs 11-12 (floating ribs)
• Reddish bean shaped 12 cm long 6 cm wide 3 cm thick (LARGE BAR SOAP)
• Stabilized in place by surrounding connective tissue (peritoneum)
• Right is slightly lower than the left (push down by the liver)
• RENAL HILUM - attachment of ureter, lymphatics, artery, vein and
nerves
• Adrenal gland/ Kidney
 Layers of Kidney
1.RENAL CAPSULE (deep layer)
-Continuous with the outer coat of ureter
-barrier against trauma
-maintain the shape of kidney

2. ADIPOSE CAPSULE (middle layer)

-mass of fatty tissue
-protects the kidney from trauma
-holds firmly in place in abdominal cavity

3. RENAL FASCIA (superficial)

-anchors the kidney to the surrounding structures
-deep to the peitoneum
 REGIONS OF THE KIDNEY
1. Renal cortex – outer region
OUTER CORTICAL ZONE
INNER JUXTAMEDULLARY ZONE

RENAL COLUMNS- extends down the medulla; separates pyramids

2. Renal medulla- inside the cortex

10-18 Renal pyramids-triangular regions of tissue in the medulla formed almost
entirely of parallel bundles of miscroscopic urine collecting tubules and capillaries
Renal papilla (nipples) - the tips of the pyramids
Minor calyces join together to form major calyces funnel to
Renal Pelvis- inner collecting tube
-continuous with the ureter leaving the hilum
RENAL LOBE – forms by each pyramid and the renal cortex above
 KIDNEY BLOOD FLOW
• Filters 150L- 180L of blood/day
(if 5L in body= entire volume of blood is filtered 30x a day (more than once every
hour)
• Kidneys get ¼ of the cardiac output (blood pump out from left
ventricle)
• Receive through renal arteries
• Leaves through renal veins
• Regulated by renal nerves
Blood flow in the kidneys
 NEPHRONS
• The structural and functional unit of the kidneys
• Responsible for filtering of blood and forming
urine
• Located in the cortex
• 1 million nephrons/ kidney

Renal Corpuscle-blood filtration starts

Glomerulus- tiny bed of capillaries
Bowman’s capsule- made up of renal cells, surround
glomerulus
Renal tubule- surrounded by peritubular capillaries
 TYPES OF NEPHRONS
1. Cortical nephrons- Located entirely in the cortex
Includes most nephrons

2. Juxtamedullary nephrons- Found at the boundary of

the cortex and medulla
 Juxtaglomerular complex (each
nephron)
• Involved in regulation of blood pressure and
Glomerular Filtration Rate GFR (blood that passes
through glomeruli per minute
• Located in between the distal convoluted tubule
and the afferent arteriole
3 types of cells
Macula densa cells- located in the distal
convoluted tubule, can sense low sodium and
chloride
sends signal to Juxtaglomerular cells- wall of
afferent arteriole, receives the signal, sense low
blood pressure= secretes RENIN (increase sodium
reabsorption) inc blood volume
Extraglomerular mesangial cells-signals between
the 2
Peritubular Capillaries
• Arise from efferent arteriole of the glomerulus
• Normal, low pressure capillaries
• Attached to a venule
• Cling close to the renal tubule
• Reabsorb (Reclaim) some substances from collecting tubes
• Millions of nephrons make urine it flows to minor calyces- major-
renal pelvis- ureter
GLOMERULUS
• A specialized capillary bed
• Attached to arterioles on both sides (maintains high pressure)
• Large afferent arteriole INLET ; Narrow efferent arteriole OUTLET
• The glomerulus sits within a glomerular capsule (first part of renal tubule)
• Endothelial lining capillary
• Basement membrane (Octopus tentacles like) of the nephron to bowman’s
space filtration
• FILTRATION SLITS – tiny gap projection (between tentacles)
• Act like sieve allows passage of small particles like H20, Glucose and ionic salts
• Blocks large protein and RBC
• PODOCYTES- wrap around the basement membrane
• As the filtrate leaves bowman’s capsule it flows to renal tubule
 GLOMERULAR FILTRATION
• Glomerular capillaries are fenestrated
• BP forces water and small solutes
across the membrane and into the
capsular space
• Some important nutrients (glucose,
fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins) can
pass through
• Reabsorbed in the PCT
RENAL TUBULES
• Filtrate is fine tuned based on what body needs or
what it wants to discard
• water and solutes getting pass back and forth bet
filtrate in the lumen of renal tubule and the blood in
peritubular capillaries
1. Proximal convoluted tubule PCT
2. Nephron loop (loop of henle)
descending limb
ascending limb
3.Distal convoluted tubule dct
4.Collection duct- sends the urine to minor calyces
PROXIMAL CONVOLUTED
TUBULE
• 1st segment of renal tubule
• Lining is simple cuboidal
epithelium with microvilli
• Reabsorption of nutrients, ions,
water and plasma proteins
(sodium, chloride and K, Glucose,
amino acids, urea, bicarb and
water)
• Released into the peritubular fluid
LOOP OF HENLE
• Found in the medulla area of
kidneys
• Descending and ascending limb
• Pumps out sodium and chloride
move water out of the tubule
• Water movement out of the
loop helps concentrate the
tubular fluid
 DISTAL CONVOLUTED
TUBULE
• Smaller from PCT because of
small Diameter and lack of
microvilli
• Important for 3 basic process
• Actively secretes ions, acids,
drugs and toxins
• Selectively absorbs sodium and
calcium ions and water
(depending on the needs of
your body) finalizing how much
stuff you’re gonna let go
COLLECTING SYSTEM
• Some final filtration,
secretion and
reabsorption
• Concentrated urine passes
through the collecting
duct, merge into papillary
ducts empties to minor
calyx leads to major calyx
to renal pelvis to ureters
URINE FORMATION
PROCESSES

• Filtration
• Reabsorption
• Secretion
FILTRATION
• Non selective passive process
• Water and solutes smaller than proteins forced
through capillary walls
• Blood cells cannot pass through capillaries
• Filtrate is collected in the glomerular capsule and
leaves via renal tubules
REABSORPTION
• The peritubular capillaries reabsorb several materials
• Water, glucose, amino acids, ions
• Urea, uric acid and creatinine and excess water(not
reabsorbed

• Some reabsorption is passive, most is active

• Most reabsorption occurs in the PCT
SECRETION- REABSORPTION IN
REVERSE
• Some materials move fron peritubular capillaries to
renal tubules
• HYDROGEN AND POTASSIUM IONS, CREATININE
• Materials left in the renal tubule move toward the
ureter
• Blood enters through afferent arteriole- ball of capillaries (glomerulus)
leaves via efferent arteriole
• Afferent is larger than efferent= blood hydrostatic pressure in the
capillaries is higher than normal
• Hydrostatic and orthostatic pressure drive water and solutes from
blood plasma through filtration membrane to the capsular space of
nephron- (allows small particles to pass)
Efferent arterioles branch out to peritubular capillaries surrounding the
renal tubules
PCT- Reabsorbs, in this process water and solutes are driven trough
epithelial cells lines the tubule to capillaries.
Sodium reabsorption is the most important to create osmotic pressure
Sodium levels inside the epithelial celss is kept low to the NA and K pump
Glucose, sodium water cl amino acids some urea are reabsorbed back to
the blood

At the same time tubular secretion of wastes drugs and other solutes
leave the blood stream to join the tubular fluid
• Loop of henle- enables collecting ducts to concentrate urine
• Descending limb pumps sodium out making it salty, water goes out=
more concentrated as it reaches the bottm
Permeable to sodium but much less to sodium

Ascending limb- permeable to ions but not to water more diluted

• DCT- REABSORPTION AND SECRETION are controlled by aldosterone
and parathyroid hormone

• Collecting duct- receives tubular fluid from several nephrons

Main function conserve water, concentrate urine
It is also controlled by antidiuretic hormone- body can adjust based on
its needs
 Summary of URINE FORMATION
• 3 basic processes occur in the nephron
1. GLOMERULAR FILTRATION: Blood pressure forces water to
bowman’s capsule to start if off
2. TUBULAR REABSORPTION: water and solute are removed from
the tubule to peritubular fluid. Important fluids/nutrients are
reabsorbed into the blood through active transport and osmosis
3. TUBULAR SECRETION: solutes are transported from the
peritubular fluid back into the tubule. This is necessary because
filtration alone is not enough to get unwanted wastes out of the
plasma
 FORMS AND CHARACTERISTIC
OF URINE
• 95% WATER
• Normal ph of 6
• UREA: very abundant, comes from the breakdown of amino acids( building
block of proteins)
• CREATININE: comes from the breakdown of creatine phosphate (from muscles)
• URIC ACID: formed from the recycling of nitrogenous bases or RNA
• UROBILIN: A byproduct of the breakdown of bilirubin RBC (yellow color)
• IF CLEAR- SUPER HYDRATED MORE WATER

Also it’s sterile (NO BACTERIA)

 URETER
• Pair of muscular tubes connect the kidneys
to urinary bladder
• Firmly attached to the posterior abdominal
wall
• 3 tissue layer: inner mucosa, muscular
layer and outer connective tissue
• Insert to the bladder at the ureterovesicle
junction
• Sideways angle so that if the bladder is full
it compresses the openings to the ureters
(prevent back flow)
• PERISTALSIS –sweeps urine through ureters
 URINARY BLADDER
• Hollow, muscular organ
• Temporary reservoir for urine
• Can hold 1 L of urine
• RUGAE Contract when empty. expand when full
• Mucosa layer that has transitional epithelium (stretchy)
• Detrusor muscle- thick muscular layer- helps with bladder
contraction
Female: bladder is in front of vagina, uterus and rectum (Less than
women because of crowding of uterus)
Male: bladder is infont of the rectum
 URINARY BLADDER
• Trigone region- at the floor of
the bladder smooth triangular
region
With 2 corners: at the
uterovesical junctions and 3RD
corner at internal urethral orifice
(bladder meets urethra)
- Sensitive to expansion
- Once it stretches it sends signal
to the brain (time to pee)
 URETHRA
• Drains urine from bladder
• Starting from internal urethral orifice to the external opening
• Detrusor muscle thickens to form internal urethral sphincter (involuntary)
• Controls by autonomic nervous system (keeps urethra closed when bladder
isn’t full
• In males: loExternal sphincter (voluntary)
• nger than female urethra first passes through the prostate (prostatic urethra)-
deep muscles of peritoneum ( intermediate urethra)- penis (spongy urethra
• Also used during ejaculation ; Semen enters urethra via ejaculatory ducts
• In females: urethra runs through perineal floor of the pelvis exits between the
2 labia minora above vaginal opening and below the clitoris (vulva vestibule)
 URINATION
Act of urination: coordination between nervous system and muscles of
the bladder
Once the volume of the bladder is greater than about 300-400 ml
pressure on the bladder walls increases- sends signals to the micturition
center in the spinal cord (S2 AND S3)- Sets off micturition reflex (causes
contraction of the bladder and relaxation of internal and external
sphincter)
2 areas in pons (controls the urination) – stop the micturition reflex
Pontine storage center
Pontine micturition center – allows reflex/ micturition
 URINE REABSORPTION
• Reabsorption- movement of water and solutes from
nephron tubule back to circulation
• Secretion- movement of solutes and water from the
circulation to the nephron tubule
• Na and water – plays a key role in regulating blood
pressure
• Hco3 and h+- plays a key role in acid base balance
(maintains PH of body)
REABSORPTION
• PCT- reabsorption of sodium, chloride and K,
Glucose, amino acids, urea, bicarb and water
• Descending limb of LOH- water reabsorption
• Ascending limb of LOH- na, ch, and k
• DCT- na, cl, k, ca, mg and HCO3
• CT- na, cl, urea and h20
SECRETION
PCT- secretion of creatinine, drugs and hydrogen ions
(acidic)
DCT- Secretion of hydrogen ions, K
- has an important transporter responsible for
exchange of na and k also a site where diuretics have
an effect