15 Urinary System ▪ Location and structure

o The kidneys are situated

against the dorsal body wall in
Functions of the Urinary System a retroperitoneal position
▪ Kidneys dispose of waste products in (behind the parietal
peritoneum)
urine o The kidneys are situated at the
o Nitrogenous wastes
level of the T12 to L3 vertebrae
o Toxins o The right kidney is slightly
o Drugs lower than the left (because of
o Excess ions position of the liver)
▪ Kidneys’ regulatory functions include:
o Production of renin to maintain
blood pressure
o Production of erythropoietin to
stimulate red blood cell
production
o Conversion of vitamin D to its
active form

▪ Kidney structure
o An adult kidney is about 12 cm
(5 in) long and 6 cm (2.5 in)
wide
o Renal hilum
▪ A medial indentation
where several
Organs of the Urinary System structures enter or exit
▪ Kidneys
the kidney (ureters,
renal blood vessels, and
▪ Ureters nerves)
o An adrenal gland sits atop each
▪ Urinary bladder kidney

▪ Urethra ▪ Kidney structure (continued)

o Three protective layers enclose
the kidney
Kidneys
 pelvis, on to the
▪ Fibrous capsule
ureter, and to
encloses each kidney the urinary
▪ Perirenal fat capsule bladder for
storage
surrounds the kidney
and cushions against ▪ Blood supply
blows o One-quarter of the total blood
▪ Renal fascia is the most supply of the body passes
through the kidneys each
superficial layer that
minute
anchors the kidney and
o Renal artery provides each
adrenal gland to
surrounding structures kidney with arterial blood
supply
▪ Kidney structure (continued) o Renal artery divides into
o Three regions revealed in a segmental arteries →
longitudinal section interlobar arteries → arcuate
1. Renal cortex—outer arteries → cortical radiate
region arteries
2. Renal medulla—deeper ▪ Venous blood flow
region
o Renal o Cortical radiate veins →
(medullary) arcuate veins → interlobar
pyramids— veins → renal vein
triangular o There are no segmental veins
regions of tissue o Renal vein returns blood to the
in the medulla inferior vena cava
o Renal columns
—extensions of
cortexlike
material that
separate the
pyramids
▪ Kidney structure (continued)
o Three regions (continued)
3. Renal pelvis—medial Nephrons
region that is a flat,
funnel-shaped tube
o Calyces form
cup-shaped
“drains” that
enclose the
renal pyramids
o Calyces collect
urine and send
it to the renal
 2. Glomerular (Bowman’s)
capsule is a cup-shaped
structure that surrounds the
glomerulus
▪ First part of the renal
tubule
▪ Renal tubule
o Extends from glomerular
capsule and ends when it
empties into the collecting duct
o From the glomerular
(Bowman’s) capsule, the
subdivisions of the renal tubule
are:
1. Proximal convoluted
tubule (PCT)
2. Nephron loop (loop of
Henle)
3. Distal convoluted
▪ Structural and functional units of the tubule (DCT)
kidneys ▪ Cortical nephrons
▪ Each kidney contains over a million o Located entirely in the cortex
o Include most nephrons
nephrons
▪ Juxtamedullary nephrons
▪ Each nephron consists of two main
o Found at the cortex-medulla
structures
1. Renal corpuscle junction
2. Renal tubule o Nephron loop dips deep into
the medulla
▪ Renal corpuscle consists of: o Collecting ducts collect urine
1. Glomerulus, a knot of from both types of nephrons,
capillaries made of podocytes through the renal pyramids, to
the calyces, and then to the
▪ Podocytes make up the
renal pelvis
inner (visceral) layer of
the glomerular capsule ▪ Two capillary beds associated with
o Foot processes each nephron
cling to the 1. Glomerulus
glomerulus 2. Peritubular capillary bed
o Filtration slits ▪ Glomerulus
create a porous
membrane— o Fed and drained by arterioles
ideal for ▪ Afferent arteriole—
filtration
arises from a cortical
 radiate artery and feeds filtration membrane
▪ Once in the capsule,
the glomerulus
▪ Efferent arteriole— fluid is called filtrate
receives blood that has
▪ Filtrate leaves via the
passed through the
glomerulus renal tubule
o Specialized for filtration ▪ Glomerular filtration (continued)
o High pressure forces fluid and
o Filtrate will be formed as long
solutes out of blood and into
as systemic blood pressure is
the glomerular capsule
normal
▪ Peritubular capillary beds
▪ If arterial blood
o Arise from the efferent
pressure is too low,
arteriole of the glomerulus filtrate formation stops
o Low-pressure, porous because glomerular
capillaries pressure will be too low
o Adapted for absorption instead to form filtrate
of filtration
o Cling close to the renal tubule ▪ Tubular reabsorption
to receive solutes and water o The peritubular capillaries
from tubule cells reabsorb useful substances
o Drain into the interlobar veins from the renal tubule cells,
such as:

Urine Formation and ▪ Water

Characteristics ▪ Glucose
▪ Urine formation is the result of three
▪ Amino acids
processes
1. Glomerular filtration ▪ Ions
2. Tubular reabsorption o Some reabsorption is passive;
3. Tubular secretion most is active (ATP)
▪ Glomerular filtration o Most reabsorption occurs in
o The glomerulus is a filter the proximal convoluted tubule
o Filtration is a nonselective ▪ Tubular secretion
passive process o Reabsorption in reverse
▪ Water and solutes o Some materials move from the
smaller than proteins blood of the peritubular
are forced through capillaries into the renal
glomerular capillary tubules to be eliminated in
walls filtrate

▪ Proteins and blood cells ▪ Hydrogen and

are normally too large potassium ions
to pass through the
 ▪ Creatinine
o Secretion is important for:
▪ Getting rid of
substances not already
in the filtrate
▪ Removing drugs and
excess ions
▪ Maintaining acid-base
balance of blood
o Materials left in the renal
tubule move toward the ureter ▪ Nitrogenous wastes
o Nitrogenous waste products
are poorly reabsorbed, if at all
o Tend to remain in the filtrate
and are excreted from the body
in the urine
▪ Urea—end product of
protein breakdown
▪ Uric acid—results from
nucleic acid
metabolism
▪ Creatinine—associated
with creatine
metabolism in muscles
▪ In 24 hours, about 1.0 to 1.8 liters of
urine are produced
▪ Urine and filtrate are different
o Filtrate contains everything
that blood plasma does (except
proteins)
o Urine is what remains after the
filtrate has lost most of its
water, nutrients, and necessary
ions through reabsorption
o Urine contains nitrogenous
wastes and substances that are
not needed
▪ Urine characteristics
o Clear and pale to deep yellow
 in color
▪ Smooth, collapsible, muscular sac
o Yellow color is normal and
due to the pigment urochrome situated posterior to the pubic
(from the destruction of symphysis
hemoglobin) and solutes ▪ Stores urine temporarily
▪ Dilute urine is a pale,
▪ Trigone—triangular region of the
straw color
urinary bladder base based on three
o Sterile at the time of formation
openings
o Slightly aromatic, but smells o Two openings from the ureters
like ammonia with time (ureteral orifices)
o Slightly acidic (pH of 6) o One opening to the urethra
o Specific gravity of 1.001 to (internal urethral orifice)
1.035
▪ In males, the prostate surrounds the
▪ Solutes normally found in urine
neck of the urinary bladder
o Sodium and potassium ions
o Urea, uric acid, creatinine ▪ Wall of the urinary bladder
o Ammonia o Three layers of smooth muscle
o Bicarbonate ions collectively called the detrusor
muscle
▪ Solutes NOT normally found in urine
o Mucosa made of transitional
o Glucose epithelium
o Blood proteins o Walls are thick and folded in
o Red blood cells an empty urinary bladder
o Hemoglobin o Urinary bladder can expand
o WBCs (pus) significantly without
o Bile increasing internal pressure
▪ Capacity of the urinary bladder
Ureters o A moderately full bladder is
about 5 inches long and holds
▪ Slender tubes 25–30 cm (10–12 about 500 ml of urine
inches) attaching the kidney to the o Capable of holding twice that
urinary bladder amount of urine
o Continuous with the renal
pelvis
o Enter the posterior aspect of Urethra
the urinary bladder ▪ Thin-walled tube that carries urine
o Run behind the peritoneum
from the urinary bladder to the outside
▪ Peristalsis aids gravity in urine of the body by peristalsis
transport ▪ Function
o Females—carries only urine
Urinary Bladder o Males—carries urine and
sperm
Urethra bladder contractions
▪ Release of urine is controlled by two ▪ When contractions become stronger,
sphincters urine is forced past the involuntary
1. Internal urethral sphincter internal sphincter into the upper
urethra
▪ Involuntary and made
▪ Urge to void is felt
of smooth muscle
2. External urethral sphincter ▪ The external sphincter is voluntarily
▪ Voluntary and made of controlled, so micturition can usually
skeletal muscle be delayed
▪ Length
o In females: 3 to 4 cm (1.5 Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base
inches long) Balance
o In males: 20 cm (8 inches
▪ Blood composition depends on three
long)
factors
▪ Location 1. Diet
o Females—anterior to the 2. Cellular metabolism
vaginal opening 3. Urine output
o Males—travels through the ▪ Kidneys have four roles in
prostate and penis
maintaining blood composition
▪ Prostatic urethra 1. Excreting nitrogen-containing
wastes (previously discussed)
▪ Membranous urethra 2. Maintaining water balance of
▪ Spongy urethra the blood
3. Maintaining electrolyte
balance of the blood
4. Ensuring proper blood pH
Micturition
▪ Micturition
Maintaining Water Balance of the
o Voiding, or emptying of the
urinary bladder
Blood
o Two sphincters control the
release of urine, the internal
urethral sphincter and external
urethral sphincter
▪ Bladder collects urine to 200 ml

▪ Stretch receptors transmit impulses to

the sacral region of the spinal cord
▪ Impulses travel back to the bladder via
the pelvic splanchnic nerves to cause
 internal environments
(Figure 15.9)
▪ The link between water and
electrolytes
o Electrolytes are charged
particles (ions) that conduct
electrical current in an aqueous
solution
o Sodium, potassium, and
calcium ions are electrolytes

▪ Normal amount of water in the human

body
o Young adult females = 50%
o Young adult males = 60%
o Babies = 75%
o The elderly = 45% ▪ Regulation of water intake and output
o Water intake must equal water
▪ Water is necessary for many body
output if the body is to remain
functions, and levels must be properly hydrated
maintained o Sources for water intake
▪ Water occupies three main fluid ▪ Ingested foods and
compartments fluids
1. Intracellular fluid (ICF)
▪ Water produced from
▪ Fluid inside cells
metabolic processes
▪ Accounts for two-thirds (10%)
o Thirst mechanism is the
of body fluid
driving force for water intake
2. Extracellular fluid (ECF)
▪ Fluids outside cells;
includes blood plasma,
interstitial fluid (IF),
lymph, and
transcellular fluid
3. Plasma (blood) is ECF, but
accounts for 3L of total body
water.
▪ Links external and
▪ Thirst mechanism
o Osmoreceptors are sensitive
cells in the hypothalamus that
become more active in reaction
to small changes in plasma
solute concentration
o When activated, the thirst
center in the hypothalamus is
notified
o A dry mouth due to decreased
saliva also promotes the thirst
mechanism
o Both reinforce the drive to
drink
▪ Sources of water output Maintaining Electrolyte Balance
o Lungs (insensible since we ▪ Small changes in electrolyte
cannot sense the water leaving)
concentrations cause water to move
o Perspiration
from one fluid compartment to another
o Feces
o Urine ▪ A second hormone, aldosterone, helps
▪ Hormones are primarily responsible regulate blood composition and blood
volume by acting on the kidney
for reabsorption of water and o For each sodium ion
electrolytes by the kidneys reabsorbed, a chloride ion
o Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) follows, and a potassium ion is
prevents excessive water loss secreted into the filtrate
in the urine and increases o Water follows salt: when
water reabsorption sodium is reabsorbed, water
o ADH targets the kidney’s follows it passively back into
collecting ducts the blood
Electrolyte Balance o Acidosis—pH below 7.35
o Physiological acidosis—pH
▪ Renin-angiotensin mechanism
between 7.0 and 7.35
o Most important trigger for
aldosterone release ▪ Kidneys play greatest role in
o Mediated by the maintaining acid-base balance
juxtaglomerular (JG) apparatus ▪ Other acid-base controlling systems
of the renal tubules
o When cells of the JG apparatus o Blood buffers
are stimulated by low blood o Respiration
pressure, the enzyme renin is ▪ Blood buffers
released into blood
o Acids are proton (H+) donors
▪ Renin-angiotensin mechanism
▪ Strong acids dissociate
(continued)
completely and liberate
o Renin catalyzes reactions that
all of their H+ in water
produce angiotensin II
o Angiotensin II causes ▪ Weak acids, such as
vasoconstriction and carbonic acid,
aldosterone release dissociate only partially
o Result is increase in blood o Bases are proton (H+)
volume and blood pressure acceptors
▪ Strong bases dissociate
easily in water and tie
up H+
▪ Weak bases, such as
bicarbonate ion and
ammonia, are slower to
accept H+
▪ Molecules react to prevent dramatic
changes in hydrogen ion (H+)
concentrations
o Bind to H+ when pH drops
o Release H+ when pH rises
▪ Three major chemical buffer systems
1. Bicarbonate buffer system
2. Phosphate buffer system
Maintaining Acid-Base Balance of 3. Protein buffer system
Blood ▪ The bicarbonate buffer system
▪ Blood pH must remain between 7.35 o Mixture of carbonic acid
(H2CO3) and sodium
and 7.45 to maintain homeostasis
bicarbonate (NaHCO3)
o Alkalosis—pH above 7.45
 ▪ Carbonic acid is a weak ▪ Hydrogen ions are
acid that does not secreted
dissociate much in o Urine pH varies from 4.5 to 8.0
neutral or acid
solutions
Developmental Aspects of the
▪ Bicarbonate ions
Urinary System
(HCO3−) react with
strong acids to change ▪ The kidneys begin to develop in the
them to weak acids first few weeks of embryonic life and
HCl + NaHCO3 → H2CO3 + are excreting urine by the third month
NaCl of fetal life
strong acid weak base weak acid ▪ Common congenital abnormalities
salt
include polycystic kidney and
▪ The bicarbonate buffer system hypospadias
(continued) ▪ Common urinary system problems in
o Carbonic acid dissociates in
children and young to middle-aged
the presence of a strong base to
adults include infections caused by
form a weak base and water
fecal microorganisms, microorganisms
NaOH + H2CO3 → NaHCO3 +
causing sexually transmitted
H2O
infections, and Streptococcus
strong base weak acid weak base
water ▪ Control of the voluntary urethral
sphincter does not start until age 18
▪ Respiratory mechanisms
months
o Respiratory rate can rise and
▪ Complete nighttime control may not
fall depending on changing
blood pH to retain CO2 occur until the child is 4 years old
(decreasing the blood pH) or ▪ Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the
remove CO2 (increasing the
blood pH) only common problems before old age
o Escherichia coli (E. coli), a
▪ Renal mechanisms bacterium, accounts for 80
o When blood pH rises: percent of UTIs
▪ Bicarbonate ions are ▪ Renal failure is an uncommon but
excreted serious problem in which the kidneys
are unable to concentrate urine, and
▪ Hydrogen ions are dialysis must be done to maintain
retained by kidney chemical homeostasis of blood
tubules
▪ With age, filtration rate decreases and
o When blood pH falls:
tubule cells become less efficient at
▪ Bicarbonate ions are concentrating urine, leading to
reabsorbed urgency, frequency, and incontinence
▪ In men, urinary retention is another
common problem
▪ Problems associated with aging
o Urgency—feeling that it is
necessary to void
o Frequency—frequent voiding
of small amounts of urine
o Nocturia—need to get up
during the night to urinate
o Incontinence—loss of control
o Urinary retention—common in
males, often the result of
hypertrophy of the prostate
gland