Urination

Urination is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the urinary meatus outside of the body. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, or, rarely, emiction, and known colloquially by various names including tinkling, peeing, weeing, and pissing.

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 a reflex. It is normal for adult humans to urinate up to seven times during the day.

In some animals, in addition to expelling waste material, urination can mark territory or express submissiveness. Physiologically, urination 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. In female placental mammals, urine is ejected through the vulva or pseudo-penis.