The Urinary System is a group of organs in the body concerned with filtering out excess fluid and other substances from the bloodstream. The organs included in the urinary system are the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The kidneys are two bean-shaped, reddish brown organs about the size of your fist. The renal capsule, a tough capsule of fibrous connective tissue, covers the kidneys. The ribcage protects the kidneys which are located in the back just above the waistline. There are three major parts of the kidney: renal cortex, renal medulla, and the renal pelvis.
The renal cortex is the outer layer. The renal medulla is the inner region. And the renal pelvis is a basin-like area in the central part of the kidney. The ureters are tubes that drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder. The ureters send the urine in small spurts into the bladder, then small fold in the bladder mucosa act like valves preventing backward flow of urine into the kidneys. The bladder is a hallow, muscular, elastic organ that sits on the pelvic floor. The bladder can hold up to 18 ounces of urine in a healthy bladder. Urine is temporarily stored in the bladder.
The urethra is a muscular tube that connects the bladder with the outside of the body and main job is to remove urine from the bladder. Women tend to have more urinary tract infections than men. This is due to men having a longer urethra than women. The males urethra is about eight inches long while a females is only about one-two inches long. The Filtration of Urine: There are a number of conditions that can affect the urinary system. Some types of kidney conditions are glomerulonephritis, nephrolithiasis, renal failure, and renal hypertension. Some associated conditions are diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus.
Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of the kidney glomerulus. There are two types of glomerulonephritis, poststreptococcal and chronic. Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis appears ten-fourteen days after a streptococcal infection. No bacteria is found in the kidneys but inflammation is caused from an immune reaction in the glomerulus. Chronic glomerulonephritis can result in high blood pressure, aluminuria, and renal failure. Nephrolithiasis is kidney stones which usually consist of acids and or salts. Kidney stones are caused by increased calcium or high levels of uric acid in the blood.
Doctors usually prescribe painkillers such as morphine to help with the pain of passing the stones through the urethra. Sometimes when stones are too large to pass through and get lodged in the ureter, bladder, or renal pelvis they need to be removed by surgery or lithotripsy. Renal failure is when the kidney fails to excrete wastes and keep up with filtration. Renal failure can be acute or chronic, reversible or progressive, mild or sever. When all medical measures have been tried doctors will put the patient on hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and renal transplant.
Hemodialysis is an artificial machine that receives waste-filled blood from the bloodstream, filters it and returns the blood back to the bloodstream. Peritoneal dialysis uses a catheter in the abdominal cavity to introduce fluid into the bloodstream which causes waste in the capillaries of the peritoneum to pass out of the bloodstream and into the fluid. The fluid is then removed buy the catheter. Renal hypertension is high blood pressure resulting from kidney disease. High blood pressure caused by abnormal conditions like glomerulonephritis is called secondary hypertension.
Essential hypertension is when the cause for high blood pressure is unknown. Diabetes insipidus is caused by inadequate secretion or resistance of the kidney to the action of antidiuretic hormone (ADH). Major symptoms of this condition are polydipsia and polyuria. Diabetes mellitus is inadequate secretion or improper utilization of insulin. Major symptoms of this condition are glycosuria, hyperglycemia, and also polydipsia and polyuria. In conclusion the urinary system is very important to the body because it allows waste to be taken out of the body.
