URINARY / EXCRETORY SYSTEM Renal Cortex

● Kidney ● Where nephrons are located

● Ureters ● Outer region
● Urinary Bladder Renal Medulla
● Urethra ● Where collecting ducts are found
● Renal (medullary) pyramids -
triangular regions of tissue in the
medulla
● Renal columns - extensions of
cortexlike material that separate the
pyramids
Renal Pelvis
● Medial region that is a flat,
funnel-shaped tube
Kidneys’ Regulatory Functions Include: ○ Calyces form cup-shaped -
● Production of renin to maintain blood drains that enclose the
pressure renam pyramids
● Production of erythroprotein to ○ Calyces collect urine and
stimulate red blood cell production send it to the renal pelvis, on
● Conversion of Vitamin D to its active to the ureter, and to the
form urinary bladder for storage

Kidney Dispose of Waste Products in ➢ Ultrafiltrate of the blood - URINE

Urine ➢ Carried by the ureters from the
- Nitrogenous wastes kidneys and stored in the urinary
- Toxins bladder
- Drugs
- Excess ions KIDNEY STRUCTURE
● An adult kidney is about 12cm (5 in)
KIDNEY long and 6cm (2.5 in) wide
● Retroperitoneal organ ● Renal Hilum
● Surrounded by capsule and ○ A medial indentation where
perinephric fats several structures enter or
● Situated at the level of the T12 to L3 exit the kidney (ureters, renal
vertebrae blood vessels, and nerves)
● Right is lower that the left ● An adrenal gland sits atop each
○ Position of the liver kidney
● Rate of filtration at the kidney is
proportional to the glomerular
filtration rate
● Glomerular Filtration Rate
○ Rate at which the kidneys
filter out the blood that is
passing through it
BLOOD SUPPLY ● Tubular Secretion
● One-quarter of the total blood supply ○ Removes what is not
of the body passes through the needed; produces urine -
kidneys each minute DISTAL TUBULE
● Renal artery provides each kidney
with arterial blood supply NEPHRON
● Renal artery divides into segmental ● Functional unit of the kidney that
arteries: produces urine by filtration
○ Interlobar arteries ● Each kidney contains over a million
○ Arcuate arteries nephrons
○ Cortical radiate arteries ● Each nephron consists of two main
Venous Blood Flow structures
● Cortical radiate veins -> arcuate 1. Renal Corpuscle
veins ->interlobar veins -> renal ○ Glomerulus and
vein Bowman’s capsule
● There are no segmental veins 2. Renal Tubule
● Renal vein returns blood to the Composed of
inferior vena cava - Efferent areteriole
- Glomerulus - tift of capillaries
- Afferent areteriole
- Bowman’s Capsule - extension of
the convoluted tubule
- Convoluted Tubules - proximal,
Three Protective Layers Enclose the loop of Henle and distal
Kidney
● Fibrous Capsule
○ Encloses each kidney
● Perirenal Fat Capsule
○ Surrounds the kidney and
cushions against blows
● Renal Fascia
○ Is the most superficial layer
that anchors the kidney and
adrenal gland to surrounding
structures

URINE FORMATION
● Glomerular Flitration
○ Urine formation begins,
plasma is filtered
● Tubular Reabsorption
○ Returns most of the fluid to
the body - PROXIMAL
TUBULE
Special Cells in the Nephron ○ Slightly aromatic, but smells
JUXTAGLOMERULAR CELLS like ammonia with time
● Secrete renin and erythropoietin ○ Slightly acidic (pH of 6)
○ Specific gravity of 1.001 to
GLOMERULUS 1.035
● Fed and drained by arterioles
○ Afferent Arteriole - arises RENAL PELVIS
from a cortical radiate artery ● Funnel-shaped expanded portion of
and feeds the glomerulus the ureter
○ Efferent Arteriole - receives ● Formed by the calyces
blood that has passed ● Collects urine from the kidney
through the glomerulus
● Specialized for filtration URETER
● High pressure forces fluid and Left and Right
solutes out of blood and into the ● A long slender tube that propels
glomerular capsule urine from the kidney to the urinary
bladder, 25-30 cm (10-12 in)
NITROGENOUS WASTES ● With smooth muscles and traditional
- Nitrogenous waste products are epithelium
poorly reabsorbed, if at all ● With innervations from the
- Tend to remain in the filtrate and are sympathetic and parasymphatetic
excreted from the body in the urine
● Urea - end product of protein URINARY BLADDER
breakdown ● Hollow pyramid shaped organ
● Uric Acid - results from located in the pelvis
nucleic acid metabolism ● Lined with transitional epithelium
● Creatinine - associated with ● With thick detrudor muscles
creatine metabolism in ● Mictutition reflex resulting from the
muscles distension of the organ
● Impulses are transmitted to the
Urine Formation and Characteristics sacral parasympathetic segments to
● Urine characteristics initiate urination
○ Clear and pale to deep ● Urination results from involuntary
yellow in color (reflex) and voluntary processes.
○ Yellow color is normal and ○ When urine fills the bladder,
due to the pigment parasympathetic nerve fibers
urochrome (from the in the bladder wall cause the
destruction of hemoglobin) bladder to contract and the
and solutes internal sphincter (located
■ Dilute urine is a pale, at the internal urethral orifice)
straw color to relax.
○ Sterile at the time of ● The cerebrum, in a voluntary
formation reaction, then causes the external
 sphincter to relax and urination to URETHRA
begin. ● Tube extending from the urinary
● This is called the micturition bladder to the external urethral
reflex orifice
○ Females: 3 to 4cm (1.5 in
long)
○ Males: 20cm (8 in long)
● Location
○ Females: anterior to the
vaginal opening
○ Males: travels through the
prostate and penis
● 3 Parts in Males
1. Prostatic Urethra - most
dilatable
2. Membranous Urethra -
● The maximum that it can hold is one least dilatable and shortest
liter 3. Penile Urethra - longest
● Can hold up to 300 ml of urine
comfortably for two to five hours
● Trigone - triangular region of the
urinary bladder based on three
openings
○ Two openings from the
ureters (ureteral orcifices)
○ One opening to the urethra
(internal urethral orificr)
● In males, the prostate surrounds the
neck of the urinary bladder

RENAL PHYSIOLOGY
Urine Formation
1. Urinary blood flow
2. Glomerular filtration
3. Tubular reabsorption
4. Tubular secretion
Urine Composition
● 95% water
● Contains urea and uric acid
(characteristic smell)
● Can contain trace amino acids
 ● Urine may also contain other ● Water is necessary for many body
chemicals that can be detected functions, and levels must be
● Sodium, chloride, potassium, maintained
calcium, magnesium, sulfates,
phosphates, bicarbonates, uric acid, Water Occupies Three Main Fluid
ammonium ions, creatinine, and Compartments
urobilinogen 1. Intracellular Fluid (ICF)
○ A derivative of bilirubin ○ Fluid inside cells
resulting from the action of ○ Accounts for teo-thirds of
intestinal bacteria body fluid
● A few luekocytes and RBCs (and, in 2. Extracellular Fluid (ECF)
males, some spermatozoa) may ○ Fluids outside cells; includes
enter the urine as it passes from the blood plasma, interstitial fluid
kidney to the ureteral orifice. (IF), lymph, and transcellular
● When a person is taking drugs that fluid
are normally excreted in urine, the 3. Plasma (blood) is ECF, but
urine contains those substances as accounts for 3L of total body water.
well. ○ Links external and internal
● Hormones present in a pregnant environments
woman are detectable in urine
● Diuretic - any substance that Total Body Water
increases urine production Volume = 40L
● Solutes normally found in urine 60% body weight
○ Sodium and potassium ions Intracellular Fluid (ICF)
○ Urea, uric acid, creatinine Volume = 25L
○ Ammonia 40% body weight
○ Bicarbonate ions Interstitial Fluid (IF)
● Solutes NOT normally found in urine Volume = 12L
○ Glucose 80% of ECF
○ Blood proteins Extracellular Fluid (ECF)
○ Red blood cells Volume = 15L
○ Hemoglobin 20% body weight
○ WBCs (pus) Plasma
○ Bile Volume = 3L
20% of ECF
Maintaning Water Balance of the Blood
● Normal amount of water in the ● Regulation of water intake and
human body output
○ Young adult females = 50% ○ Water intake must equal
○ Young adult males = 60% water output if the body is to
○ Babies = 75% remain properly hydrated
○ The elderly = 45% ○ Sources for water intake
■ Ingested foods and
fluids
 ■ Water produced from low blood pressure, the
metabolic processes enzyme renin is released into
(10%) blood
○ Thirst mechanism is the ● Renin-angiotensin Mechanism
driving force for water intake (continued)
○ Renin catalyzes reactions
Thirst Mechanism that produce angiotensin II
● Osmoreceptors are sensitive cells in ○ Angiotensin II causes
the hypothalamus that become more vasoconstriction and
active in reaction to small changes in aldosterone release
plasma solute concentration ○ Result is increase in blood
● When activated, the thirst center in volume and blood pressure
the hypothalamus is notified
● A dry mouth due to decreased saliva Maintaining Acid-Base Balance of Blood
also promotes the thirst mechanism ● Blood pH must remain between 7.35
● Both reinforce the drive to drink and 7.45 to maintain homeostasis
○ Alkalosis - pH above 7.45
Sources of water output ○ Acidosis - pH below 7.35
- Lungs (insensible since we cannot ○ Physiological Acidosis - pH
sense the water leaving) between 7.0 and 7.35
- Perspiration ● Kidneys play greatest role in
- Feces maintaining acid-base balance
- Urine ● Other acid-base controlling systems
○ Blood buffers
● Hormones are primarily responsible ○ Respiration
for reabsorption of water and Three Major Chemical Buffer Systems
electrocytes by the kidneys 1. Bicarbonate buffer system
○ Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) 2. Phosphate buffer system
prevents excessive water 3. Protein buffer system
loss in the urine and
increases water reabsorption Respiratory Mechanisms
○ ADH targets the kidney’s ● Respiratory rate can rise and fall
collecting ducts depending on changing blood pH to
retain CO2 (decreasing the blood
Electrolyte Balance pH) or remove CO2 (increasing the
● Renin-angiotensin Mechanism blood pH)
○ Most important trigger for
aldosterone release Renal Mechanisms
○ Mediated by the ● When blood pH rises:
juxtaglomerular (JG) ○ Bicarbonate ions are
apparatus of the renal excreted
tubules ○ Hydrogen ions are retained
○ When cells of the JG by kidney tubules
apparatus are stimulated by
 ● When blood pH falls: result of hypertrophy of the
○ Bicarbonate ions are prostate gland
reabsorbed
○ Hydrogen ions are secreted
● Urine pH varies from 4.5 to 8.0

Developmental Aspects of the Urinary

System
● The kidneys begin to develop in the
first few weeks of embryonic life and
are excreting urine by the third
month of fetal life
● Common congenital abnormalities
include polycystic kidney and
hypospadias
● Common urinary system problems in
children and young to middle-aged
adults include infections caused by
fecal microorganisms,
microorganisms causing sexually
transmitted infections, and
Streptocccus
● Control of the voluntary urethral
sphincter does not start until age 18
months
● Complete nighttime control may not
occur until the child is 4 years old
● Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are
the only common problems before
old rage
○ Escherichia coli (E. coli), a
bacterium, accounts for 80%
of UTIs
● Problems associated with aging
○ Urgency - feeling that it is
necessary to void
○ Frequency - frequent voiding
of small amounts of urine
○ Nocturia - need to get up
during the night to urinate
○ Incontinence - loss of
control
○ Urinary Retention -
common in males, often the