THE URINARY SYSTEM

DR.DIPTI RAMANI
INTRODUCTION
• The urinary system consists of the kidneys, ureters,
urinary bladder, and urethra.
• The kidneys filter the blood to remove wastes and
produce urine.
• The ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra together form
the urinary tract, which acts as a plumbing system to drain
urine from the kidneys, store it, and then release it during
urination.
• Besides filtering and eliminating wastes from the body,
the urinary system also maintains the homeostasis of
water, ions, pH, blood pressure, calcium...
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Main Functions of Urinary System

• Kidneys filter blood to keep it pure
• Toxins
• Metabolic wastes
• Excess water
• Excess ions
• Dispose of nitrogenous wastes from blood
• Urea
• Uric acid
• Creatinine
• Regulate the balance of water and electrolytes,
acids and bases
THE
URINARY
SYSTEM
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The Urinary System

• Paired kidneys

• A ureter for each kidney

• Urinary bladder

• Urethra
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• KIDNEYS
• Bean shaped one on each side
• Kidneys are retroperitoneal organs (see next slide)
• Lateral surface is convex and Medial surface is concave
• Hilus* is cleft: vessels, ureters and nerves enter and leave
• Adrenal glands* lie superior to each kidney (the yellow blob in pic)
• weight- 120-180 gms

*
*
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• Kidney has two regions
• Cortex: outer
• Columns of cortex divide medulla into “pyramids”
• Medulla: inner
• Darker, cone-shaped medullary or renal pyramids
• Parallel bundles of urine-collecting tubules
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• Uriniferous tubule is the main structural and functional unit

To left is a single, generalized

uriniferous tubule

More than a million of these

tubules act together to form the
urine

Three main mechanisms

a. Glomerular filtration
b. Tubular reabsorption
c. Tubular secretion

Two major parts

1. A urine-forming nephron
2. A collecting duct which
concentrates urine by removing
water from it
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Outline
• Uriniferous tubule (anatomical unit for forming urine)
• Nephron
• Renal corpuscle (in cortex)
• Glomerulus (tuft of capillaries)
• Glomerular (Bowman’s) capsule
• Tubular section
• Proximal convoluted tubule
• Loop of Henle
• Distal convoluted tubule
• Collecting duct
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Understand at least this much:

Filtration
a. Fluid is squeezed out of
the glomerular capillary
bed
Resorption
b. Most nutrients, water ad
essential ions are
returned to the blood of
the peritubular
capillaries
Secretion
c. Moves additional
undesirable molecules
into tubule from blood of
peritubular capillaries
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Nephron
• Renal corpuscle
• Tubular section

• Renal corpuscle: only in

cortex
• Tuft of capillaries called
glomerulus
• Surrounded by cup-shaped,
hollow glomerular
(Bowman’s) capsule
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Nephron

• Tubular section
(processes the filtrate)

• Proximal convoluted
tubule
• Loop of Henle
• Distal convoluted tubule

(ends by joining
collecting duct)
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Proximal convoluted
tubule
• Confined to renal cortex
• Cuboidal epithelial cells
with long microvilli (fuzzy
appearance in pics)
• Resorption of water, ions
and solutes

*
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Loop of Henle
• Descending limb

• Thin segment

• Thick ascending limb

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Distal convoluted tubule

• Confined to the renal

cortex
• Simple cuboidal
epithelium
• Selective secretion and
resorption of ions
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Collecting Ducts Collecting Duct

• Each receives
urine from
several
nephrons
• Run straight
through cortex
into the deep
medulla
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Juxtaglomerular apparatus
• Regulation of blood pressure
• Granule (jg cells) – modified muscle cells secreting renin in response to
falling blood pressure in afferent arteriole
• Macula densa – chemoreceptors which secrete renin if solute concentration
falls

Renin
angiotensin
mechanism:
Sequence of
reactions resulting
in aldosterone
secretion from
adrenal cortex:
increases sodium
resorption from
distal convoluted
tubules: water
follows, blood
volume increases
and blood pressure
increases
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For studying

Parts of the kidney:

1. Renal pyramid
2. Efferent vessel
3. Renal artery
4. Renal vein
5. Renal hilum
6. Renal pelvis
7. Ureter
8. Minor calyx
9. Renal capsule
10. Inferior renal capsule
11. Superior renal capsule
12. Afferent vessel
13. Nephron
14. Minor calyx
15. Major calyx
16. Renal papilla
17. Renal column
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• Slender tubes about 25

The Ureters cm (10 “) long leaving
each renal pelvis
• One for each kidney
carrying urine to the
bladder
• . Gravity and peristalsis
of smooth muscle tissue
in the walls of the
ureters move urine
toward the urinary
bladder.
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Urinary Bladder • Collapsible muscular sac

• Stores and expels urine
• Lies on pelvic floor posterior
to pubic symphysis
• Males: anterior to rectum
• Females: just anterior to the
vagina and uterus

See also brief atlas

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• If full: bladder is spherical and extends into

abdominal cavity
• If empty: bladder lies entirely within pelvis with
shape like upside-down pyramid
• Urine exits via the urethra
• Trigone is inside area between ureters and
urethra: prone to infection (see slide 38)
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The Urethra
• Drains urine out of the bladder and body
• Male: about 20 cm (8”) long
• Female: 3-4 cm (1.5”) long
• Short length is why females have more urinary tract infections than males -
ascending bacteria from stool contamination

• Urethral sphincters
• Internal: involuntary sphincter of smooth muscle
• External: skeletal muscle inhibits urination voluntarily
until proper time (levator anni muscle also helps
voluntary constriction)
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With all the labels

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• Micturition
AKA:
• Voiding
• Urinating
• Emptying the bladder
FUNCTIONING OF KIDNEY OVERVIEW

• Blood enters through rt and lt renal artery

• Arteries branch into smaller arteries
• Blood passes slowly but constantly into arterioles located in
cortex. RENIN maintains BP and ensures blood flow
• Arterioles further branch into capillaries in glomerulus
• Water, salts, sugar, urea, creatinine and uric acid are filtered as
urine in bowman capsule(protein and blood stopped)
• In long renal tubules essential water , sugar and sodium are
reabsorbed and other waste products are eliminated as urine.
• Collection tubes lead to ureter.
• Then it is stored in urinary bladder and voided periodically.
• Urethral sphincters regulates urination.
physiology
• Maintenance of Homeostasis
• Filtration
• Storage and Excretion of Wastes
• Production of Hormones
DISEASES OF URINARY SYSTEM
• GLOMERULONEPHRITIS
• NEPHROLITHIASIS
• POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY
• PYELONEPHRITIS
• RENAL CELL CARCINOMA
• RENAL FAILURE
• RENAL HYPERTENSION
• BLADDER CANCER
• STRICTURE URETHRA
THANK YOU