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 URINARY SYSTEM
The urinary system or renal system is the organ system that
produces, stores, and eliminates urine. The female and male
urinary systems are very similar, differing only in the length of
the urethra.
Urine is formed in the kidneys through a filtration of blood.
The urine is then passed through the ureters to the bladder,
where it is stored.
During urination (peeing) the urine is passed from the
bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body.
About 1-2 litres of urine are produced every day in a healthy
human. Although this amount may vary according to
circumstances such as fluid intake.
2
Urinary system
Itcomprises of the
organs that are concerned
with production and
excretion of urine.
The urinary system is
made up of
 the kidneys
 the ureters
 the bladder
 the urethra. 3
 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

4
5
 Kidneys
A pair of bean-shaped organs located in the abdomen below the ribs
near the middle of the back.
• The kidney is a reddish brown, bean-shaped organ with a
smooth surface
• In the adult it is about 12 centimeters long, 6 centimeters wide,
and 3 centimeters thick
• It is enclosed in a tough, fibrous capsule

 They are situated in the posterior abdominal wall and related to 12th
thoracic vertebrae superiorly and 3rd lumbar vertebrae inferiorly.
 They remove waste products from the blood
 Maintain a balance of electrolytes and other substances in the blood.
 Also produce erythropoietin (hormone that triggers the production of
red blood cells in the bone marrow).
 Other hormones are calcitrol and renin
6
Figure 23.1b

23-7
Function of the Kidneys
• The main function of the kidneys is to regulate
the volume, composition, and pH of body fluids
• The kidneys remove metabolic wastes from
the blood and excrete them to the outside of the
body, including nitrogenous and sulfur-
containing products of protein metabolism
• The kidneys also help control the rate of red
blood cell production, regulate blood pressure,
and regulate calcium ion absorption

8
23-9
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

10
Blood and Nerve supply
 Blood supply
◦ Renal artery
◦ Renal vein

 Nerve supply
◦ Derived from the celiac
plexus (parasympathetic,
Sympathetic).

11
 Microscopically
 The kidney is mostly made up of the nephron.
 Nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney.
 Components of the nephron
1. Renal corpuscle
 Renal glomerulus
 Bowman’s capsule
 2. Renal tubule
 Proximal convoluted tubule
 Loop of Henley
 Distal convoluted tubule
 Collecting tubules

12
 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Glomerular Cortical radiate

capsule artery
Cortical radiate
Proximal vein
convoluted
tubule Collecting ducts

Afferent Epithelial cell

Glomerulus arteriole

Distal Renal
Efferent convoluted Blood vessel
arteriole cortex
tubule (a) Renal Glomerular Glomerulus
tubules capsule
From renal Renal
Peritubular artery corpuscle (b)
capillary To renal
vein a: © Biophoto Associates/Photo Researchers, Inc., b: © Manfred Kage/Peter Arnold

Descending
limb Renal
Nephron medulla
loop Ascending
limb
Collecting duct

13
 Nephron
 The average nephron is 4 cm in length from the
beginning of filtration to entry into the pelvic region
of the kidney.

 Bowman's capsule forms a tight seal around the

glomerulus such that all of the fluid being filtered
out of the glomerulus is caught in the capsular
space. 
Two kinds of Nephrons, depending upon
locations

14
Cortical and Juxtamedullary Nephrons
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Cortical nephron

Renal
cortex

Juxtamedullary
nephron

Renal
medulla

Collecting
duct
15
1. Cortical nephrons (85%)
◦ short nephron loops of Henle
◦ efferent arterioles branch off into peritubular capillaries
2. Juxtamedullary nephrons (15%)
◦ Where?
◦ very long nephron loops--
◦ Vasa Recta– Efferent arterioles descend into the medulla
and give rise to Vasa Recta instead of peritubular
capillaries.
◦ The capillaries of the vasa recta lead into venules that
empty into the interlobular and arcuate veins

23-16
23-17
§ Three urine forming processes
1.-- Glomerular filtration
• From the glomerulus into Bowman’s (glomerular)
capsule
2A.--Tubular reabsorption
• From the tubular lumen into ___________
2B.--Tubular secretion
• From the peritubular capillaries into the
__________________
3.-- Water conservation

23-18
Different names (fluid in renal
tubules) in different areas:
1. Glomerular
filtrate (in the
capsular space)

2. Tubular fluid
(proximal tubule
to distal tubule)

3. Urine
(collecting duct
and beyond)
23-19
 Glomerular Filtration
• Glomerular filtration
• Substances move from the blood to the glomerular capsule

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Glomerulus

Afferent
Proximal arteriole
convoluted
tubule
Capillary
endothelium
Podocyte

Glomerular Glomerular
capsule filtrate

Blood Fenestrae
flow

Podocyte
Efferent
arteriole

(a) (b)
20
Glomerular Filtration
NFP = GBHP – CHP – BCOP
 Net filtration 10 = 55 - 15 - 30
pressure (NFP)
depends on 3
pressures:
1) glomerular blood
hydrostatic pressure 1
(GBHP)
2) capsular hydrostatic
pressure (CHP)
3) blood colloid
osmotic pressure 2
3
(BCOP)
Tubular Reabsorption
• Tubular reabsorption
• Substances move from the renal tubules
into the interstitial fluid where they then
diffuse into the peritubular capillaries
• The proximal convoluted tubule reabsorbs
(70%):
• Glucose, water, urea, proteins, and
creatine
• Amino, lactic, citric, and uric acids
• Phosphate, sulfate, calcium, potassium,
and sodium ions
22
 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Blood
flow

Glomerulus

Glomerular
capsule

Blood
Glomerular flow
filtrate

Proximal
convoluted
tubule Na+ + 1 Sodium ions
Na+ are reabsorbed by
+
active transport
Cl– –
–
PO4–3 2 Negatively charged ions
–
are attracted to positively
HCO3– –
charged ions
N+ +
– +
Cl– – + 3 As concentration of ions
+–
– + (solute) increases in plasma,
Na+ osmotic pressure increases
H2O – +
– +
H2O ++
– + 4 Water moves from proximal
+– tubule to capillary by
– –
++ osmosis
– –

Isotonic Peritubular capillary

tubular fluid Blood
flow 23
Tubular Secretion
• Tubular secretion
• Substances move from the plasma of
the peritubular capillaries into the fluid
of the renal tubules
• Active transport mechanisms function
here
• Secretion of substances such as
drugs and ions

24
 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Peritubular capillary
Blood flow
K+ or H+

Tubular reabsorption Tubular secretion

Na+ Na+ Na+ H+ Na+ K+

Na+
Na+ Na +
K+
K+
Na+ Na+

Na+ H+
Tubular fluid Distal convoluted tubule
Na+ K+
Na+ Na+

Ascending limb Collecting duct

of nephron loop

25
Regulation of Urine
Concentration and Volume
• Hormones such as aldosterone and ANP affect the solute
concentration of urine, particularly sodium (How does this relate to
blood pressure?)
• The ability of the kidneys to maintain the internal environment
rests in a large part on their ability to concentrate urine by
reabsorbing large volumes of water
• The distal convoluted tubule and the collecting duct are
impermeable to water, so water may be excreted as dilute urine
• If ADH is present, these segments become permeable, and water
is reabsorbed by osmosis into the extremely hypertonic medullary
interstitial fluid (What is ADH? What does hyper-, hypo- and
isotonic mean?)
• A countercurrent mechanism in the nephron loops (the
descending and the ascending limbs) ensures that the medullary
interstitial fluid becomes hypertonic
• This mechanism is known as the countercurrent multiplier
• The vasa recta also contributes as a countercurrent mechanism 26
 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Distal convoluted
tubule
Medullary Medullary
interstitial fluid H2O interstitial fluid

H2O H2O

H2O H2O

H2O
H2O

Collecting duct Collecting duct

Hypertonic Hypertonic
interstitial interstitial
fluid fluid
H2O

Dilute urine Concentrated urine

(a) low ADH levels (b) high ADH levels

27
28
 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

1 Na+
H2O Cl–

Salty
Increasing
NaCl
concentration
2
Na+
Cl– H2O Cl–
Hypotonic fluid
Na+
Isotonic fluid
More
Cl – Thick ascending salty
H2O limb (impermeable
Na+
to water)

H2O Cl– 3 Na+

Na+ Cl–
Descending Medullary H2O
limb interstitial
H2O
(permeable fluid Even
to water) more
salty

Hypertonic
(a) fluid (b)
29
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Blood
flow Blood
flow

Increasing
NaCl
concentration

Medullary
interstitial
NaCl fluid

NaCl NaCl NaCl

NaCl
NaCl NaCl
NaCl

Vasa
recta

30
Urine formation
Average urine production in adult humans is about 1
– 2 L per day, depending on state of hydration,
activity level, environmental factors, weight, and the
individual's health. Producing too much or too little
urine needs medical attention. Polyuria is a condition
of excessive production of urine (> 2.5 L/day),
oliguria when < 400 mL are produced, and anuria
one of < 100 mL per day.
The first step in urine formation is the filtration of
blood in the kidneys. In an healthy human the kidney
receives between 12 and 30 % of cardiac output, but
it averages about 20 % or about 1.25 L/min.

31
Urine formation cont’
The basic structural and functional unit of the
kidney is the nephron. Its chief function is to
regulate the concentration of water and soluble
substances like sodium salts by filtering the blood
, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the
rest as urine.
In the first part of the nephron, the renal corpuscle
blood is being filtrated from the
circulatory system into the nephron. A pressure
difference between forces the filtrate from the
blood across the filtration membrane. The filtrate
includes water, small molecules and ions that
easily pass through the filtration membrane.

32
Urine formation cont’
However larger molecules such as proteins and
blood cells is prevented from passing trough the
filtration membrane. The amount of filtrate
produced every minute is called the
glomerular filtration rate or GFR and amounts to a
staggering 180 litres per day. About 99 % of this
filtrate is then reabsorbed as it passes through the
nephron and the remaining 1 % becomes urine.
The urinary system is regulated by the
endocrine system by hormones such as
antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone, and
parathyroid hormone.[2]

33
Urine movement

Urine moves from the nephrones

collecting duct system to the minor calyx and
then the major calyx before entering the
renal pelvis, a funnel-like dilated proximal
part of the ureter within the kidney. The
major function of the renal pelvis is to act as
a funnel for urine flowing to the ureter. From
here the urine flows through the ureters to
the bladder, where it is stored until urination
takes place.
34
Ureters
Superiorly
 Continuous with the renal pelvis
Inferiorly
 Pass through the abdominal cavity, behind
the peritoneum, infront of the psoas muscle,
into the pelvic cavity ehere they enter the
posterior wall of the bladder

25-30 cm in length

35
The Ureters
The ureters are muscular tubes leading from the renal pelvis to
the lower bladder.
 Urinary bladder
 It’s a musculo -membranous sac situated in the pelvis.
 It’s a reservoir of urine (Capacity is 500cc)
 Two surfaces; superior (abdominal) surface and antero
-inferior (pubic) surface
 Two lateral surfaces and a base (fundus).
 Contains Trigon (smooth, triangular area) with three
openings i.e. two from ureters and one for urethra
 Have foldings when empty and smooth when full.

37
The Urinary Bladder
- is a muscular sac on the floor of the pelvic cavity.

- is highly distensible and expands superiorly.

The openings of the two ureters and the urethra mark a triangular area called
the trigone on the bladder floor.
40
41
42
The Urethra
- conveys urine from the urinary bladder to the outside of the
body.

Females male
3-4 cm ~18 cm

greater risk of
urinary tract
infections
 The male urethra has three regions:

1) prostatic urethra

2) membranous urethra

3) penile urethra.

Difficulty in voiding urine

with enlarged prostate
In both sexes:
- internal urethral sphincter- under involuntary control.
- external urethral sphincter - under voluntary control

internal urethral sphincter

external urethral sphincter

Urination/ micturation

Urination is the ejection of urine from the

urinary bladder through the urethra to the
outside of the body. In healthy humans (and
many other animals), the process of urination
is under voluntary control. In infants, some
elderly individuals, and those with
neurological injury, urination may occur as
an involuntary reflex. In other animals, in
addition to expelling waste material,
urination
can mark territory or express submissiveness.

46
Urination cont’
Physiologically, micturition involves
coordination between the central,
autonomic, and somatic nervous systems.
Brain centers that regulate urination include
the pontine micturition center,
periaqueductal gray, and the cerebral cortex
. In male placental mammals, urine is
ejected through the penis, and in female
placental mammals through the vulva.

47
Urologic disease
 Urologic disease can involve congenital or acquired
dysfunction of the urinary system.
 Kidney diseases are normally investigated and treated
by nephrologists, while the specialty of urology deals
with problems in the other organs. Gynecologists may
deal with problems of incontinence in women.
 Diseases of other bodily systems also have a direct
effect on urogenital function. For instance it has been
shown that protein released by the kidneys in diabetes
mellitus sensitizes the kidney to the damaging effects
of hypertension .
 Diabetes also can have a direct effect in urination due
to peripheral neuropathies which occur in some
individuals with poorly controlled diabetics.

48
 O R
U F
Y O !!
N K N !!
H A T IO
T E N
T T
A

49