URINARY SYSTEM

The Urinary System

• Urinary System is one of the four excretory

systems in our body. The other three are
bowel, lungs & skin.
 Components of Urinary System

Fig 7.1 Components of Urinary System

2 Kidneys

2 Ureters
Urinary Bladder
Urethra
 The kidneys remove waste products of
metabolism, excess water and salts from blood
and maintain the pH .
 Uretersconvey urine from the kidneys to the
urinary bladder.
 The urinary bladder is the muscular reservoir of
urine.
 Urethra is the channel to the exterior.
 The Kidneys/Renes
• Definition

– The kidneys are a pair of excretory organs

situated on the posterior abdominal wall,

one on each side of the vertebral column,
behind the peritoneum.
 Location
• The occupies the
• kidneys
epigastric , hypochondriac, lumbar & umbilical
regions.
• Vertically they extends from upper border of twelfth
thoracic vertebra to the center of the body of third
lumbar vertebra.
• The right kidney is slightly lower than the left, & the
left kidney is little nearer to the median plane than
the right.
 The Kidneys- Surface Anatomy
• External Features
– Each kidney is bean shaped.
– It has upper & lower poles,
medial and lateral borders,
and anterior and posterior
surfaces.
– The upper pole is broad & is
in close contact with the
corresponding suprarenal
glands.
– The lower pole is pointed.
 • The lateral border is
convex.
• The medial border is
concave.
• The middle part of the
11 cm
medial border is
depressed and is known
as hilum (hilus)
3cm

5cm
8
 Measurements
• Color : Reddish Brown
• Length : About 11 cm long( the left
kidney is little longer & narrower than right )
• Width : 6cm broad
• Thickness : 3cm thick
• Weight
– Males : 150gm
– Females : 135gm
Surface Marking- Morris Parallelogram

Anterior aspect Posterior aspect

 KIDNEY
• Retroperitoneal in position
• at the level of T12-L3
• right kidney is lower than the left kidney
• It is convex laterally and has a medial
indentation called renal hilum; several
structures, including the ureters, the renal
blood vessels, and nerves, enter or exit the
kidney at the hilum.
 Protective layers: Deep to superficial

• a transparent fibrous capsule-gives it

glistening appearance.
• A fatty mass, the perirenal fat capsule,
surrounds each kidney and cushions it against
blows
• The renal fascia, the most superficial layer
made of dense fibrous connective tissue
 Macroscopic Structure Papilla
Major Renal
Pyramids
Calyx
Minor
Renal Renal
calyces Cortex
Pelvis
Renal
Capsule
Ureter
Renal
Medulla
Anatomy of
Kidney
 Blood Supply
• since kidneys cleanse the blood , it is not
surprising that they have a rich blood supply.
• Aorta-Renal Artery-Segmental artery-
Interlobar artery-Arcuate artery-Cortical
radiate artery-Afferent arteriole- Glomerulus-
efferent arteriole-peritubular capillaries-
cortical radiate vein-interlobal vein-IVC
Aorta - Renal Artery-Segmental artery-Interlobar artery-Arcuate artery-Cortical radiate
artery-Afferent arteriole- Glomerulus-efferent arteriole-peritubular capillaries-cortical
radiate vein-interlobal vein-IVC
 Nephron
• Are the structural and functional units of the
kidneys and are responsible for forming urine.
• Each kidney contains over a million of these
tiny filters.
Collecting ducts – collects fluid from several
nephrons and conveys it to the renal pelvis.
2 main structures:
1. Renal corpuscle
2. Renal tubule
 Nephron
• Renal corpuscle • Renal tubule
– consists of glomerulus – 3cm long
– glomerular capsule – as it extends from the
(Bowman’s capsule) glomerular capsule , it
coils and twists before
forming a hairpin loop
and then again becomes
coiled and twisted
before entering a
collecting duct.
 Renal tubules
• Prox convoluted tubule (PCT)
• Nephron loop
• Distal Convoluted tubule (DCT)
• most nephrons are called cortical nephrons
some are called juxtamedullary nephrons
• collecting ducts receives urine from many
nephrons, run downward through the
medullary pyramids, giving the pyramids a
striped appearance.
 Flow of urine
• afferent arteriole – glomerulus – PCT –
Nephron loop – DCT – collecting ducts.
 Urine Formation
• glomerular filtration
• tubular reabsorption
• tubular secretion
 Glomerular filtration
• nonselective, passive process in w/c fluid
passes from the blood into the glomerular
capsule
• Filtrate – fluid in the capsule
• water , solutes and smaller than proteins are
forced through the capillary walls and pores of
the glomerular capsule into the renal tubule.
 Tubular Reabsorption
• water, glucose, amino acids and ions
contained in filtrate must be reabsorbed
• begins in prox convoluted tubule –
peritubular capillaries
• Most reabsorption occurs in PCT, but the DCT
and collecting are also active.
• Reabsorption occurs thru passive and active
transport.
 Tubular secretion
• tubular reabsorption in reverse.
• potassium ions and hydrogen ions, and
creatinine are secreted
 Composition of urine
• nitrogenous waste
– urea – formed by the liver as end product of protein
breakdown when amino acids are used to produce
energy.
– Uric acid – released when nucleic acids are metabolized
– Creatinine – associated w/ creatine metabolism in
muscle.

• solutes such as sodium ions, potassium ions, ammonia,

bicarbonate ions
• kidneys filter 150-180L of blood plasma-
nonliving fluid composition of blood
– Plasma
Water
Salts
Plasma proteins
Other substs (Nutrients, nitrogenous waste,
respiratory gases, hormones)
• In 24 hrs, only about 1.0-18L of urine are produced.
• Filtrate contains everything that the blood plasma
does except proteins
• Normal urine color is clear and pale to deep yellow.
Urochrome is the pigment responsible for its color.
• Normal urine pH is 6
• substances not normally found in urine are glucose,
blood proteins, RBCs , WBCs, bile, hemoglobin
 Ureters
• are two slender tubes each 10-
12in long and ¼ in diameter.
• each ureter runs behind the
peritoneum from the renal
hilum to the posterior aspect of
the bladder
• The superior end of each
ureter is continuous w/ renal
pelvis and its mucosal lining is
continuous w/ the mucosa
lining the renal pelvis and the
bladder inferiorly.
• Smooth muscle propels
urine by peristalsis.
• Once urine has entered
the bladder , it is
prevented by small valve
like folds of bladder
mucosa that cover the
ureter openings.
 Abdominal x-ray/KUB
normal Presence of stones/calculi
Urographic procedure
 Urinary Bladder
• is a smooth , collapsible
muscular sac that stores urine
temporarily.
• located retroperitoneally
• has three openings – two
ureteral orifices & internal
urethral orifice.
• Trigone, smooth triangular
region of the bladder based
outline by those three
openings.
 Urinary Bladder
• has three layers of
smooth muscle
collectively known as the
detrusor muscle
• mucosa is made up of
transitional epithelium.
• Moderately full bladder
holds about 500mL but is
capable of holding more
than twice that amt (1L)
 Urethra
• is a thin walled tube that carries urine by
peristalsis from the bladder to the outside of the
body.
 Urethra
• internal & external urethral sphincter.
• In men, 8inches long
• has three regions: prostatic, membranous,
spongy
• In women, 1 ½ in and its external opening lies
anterior to the vaginal opening.
• Micturition act of voiding; or emptying of the
bladder.
Why do some of us shiver when
we pee?
• the sensation of the drop in temperature of
warm pee leaves your body or confusion
between signal in ANS
Start Quiz
 1.Urinary system get rid of nitrogenous waste
products of the body thru an aqueous sol’n called?
2. Structural and functional unit
of the kidney.
3. Reservoir of urine.
4. Kidneys are found in pair & is situated
retroperitoneally, meaning _____
5. Adrenal glands which are situated only
above the kidney are sometimes called
6. Kidneys are found at the level
of which vertebrae?
 7. Kidneys are being protected by three
protective layers: w/c of them is found most
superficial?
8. Nephron’s glomeruli region is usually
situated at what portion of the kidney?
9. The striated appearances of the
renal pyramids are due to ____.
10. Male urethral size?
11. smooth triangular region of the bladder
based outline by those three openings.
12-14. Three phases of urine
formation.
The act of voiding is called

micturation
21-25. Trace the flow of blood
supply in the kidney.
Renal vein ------