The Urinary System
Basics
Basics
Function:
The function of the urinary system is to get rid of liquid/soluble waste also known as your urine from the blood. It also is in charge of keeping a stable amount of salts and substances in your blood.
Organs:
The major organs of the urinary system include the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.
KIDNEYS: There are two kidneys in the human body. They are kidney bean shaped organs located around the middle of the back. Its main function is to filter your blood by getting rid of all the harmful molecules in it. Those molecules are made into urine. This process is called osmoregulation. Another function that the kidneys perform is has to do with hydrating you. When you are extra dehydrated, your kidneys start absorbing as much water as they can. This means less urine will be created meaning you body will lose less fluids.
URETERS: There are two 8-10 inch long ureters in your body that connect your kidneys to your bladder. They carry the urine created in your kidneys down to your bladder. The walls of the ureters are made of muscles that regularly contract and relax to force the urine in the bladder.
BLADDER: The bladder is a hollow muscular organ located around your pelvis. It stores urine from the kidney inside and is emptied during urination. The urinary bladder can hold up to 2 cups of urine from 2-5 hours.
URETHRA: The urethra is the final part of the urinary system. It is where urine stored in the bladder exits the body during urination.
Interactions With Other Systems
The urinary system works with the circulatory system.
KIDNEYS: There are two kidneys in the human body. They are kidney bean shaped organs located around the middle of the back. Its main function is to filter your blood by getting rid of all the harmful molecules in it. Those molecules are made into urine. This process is called osmoregulation. Another function that the kidneys perform is has to do with hydrating you. When you are extra dehydrated, your kidneys start absorbing as much water as they can. This means less urine will be created meaning you body will lose less fluids.
URETERS: There are two 8-10 inch long ureters in your body that connect your kidneys to your bladder. They carry the urine created in your kidneys down to your bladder. The walls of the ureters are made of muscles that regularly contract and relax to force the urine in the bladder.
BLADDER: The bladder is a hollow muscular organ located around your pelvis. It stores urine from the kidney inside and is emptied during urination. The urinary bladder can hold up to 2 cups of urine from 2-5 hours.
URETHRA: The urethra is the final part of the urinary system. It is where urine stored in the bladder exits the body during urination.
The urinary system works with the circulatory system.
Circulatory System
The urinary system filters and cleans the blood that circulates through the circulatory system. This happens on blood's way back to the heart. In addition to cleaning the blood, the kidney also controls the amount of salt, water, and other things in the blood. All blood in the circulatory system will eventually pass through one of the kidneys at some point in time.
The urinary system filters and cleans the blood that circulates through the circulatory system. This happens on blood's way back to the heart. In addition to cleaning the blood, the kidney also controls the amount of salt, water, and other things in the blood. All blood in the circulatory system will eventually pass through one of the kidneys at some point in time.
Analogy: The Kidneys Are Like
Water Treatment Plants
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Illustration
_of_a_typical_drinking_water_treatment_process.png
The kidneys are like water treatment plants because...
- in order for the both the blood and water to get cleaned, it needs to pass through the kidneys and the treatment plant.
- their goal is to make sure that the water is safe to drink or use, exactly like how the purpose of the kidneys is to make sure the blood is safe and doesn't contain any harmful molecules.
- after the water is treated it is transported to a storage tank for later use, similarly to how the urine kidneys produce are transported to the bladder so it can be stored until urination.
Kidneys are similar to water treatment plants in many ways. If they were water treatment plants, then the bladder would be the water storage tanks while the pipes that carry the water would be the ureters.
Structure and Function: Bladder
The functions of your bladder is to store urine inside them until urination occurs. In order for them to be able to efficiently do this, they need specific physical traits.
- Your bladder is slightly stretchy. It's stretch allows it to hold your urine in when you don't pee for a while. If your bladder wasn't stretchy then urine would leak out it if it was full. It is similar to a balloon. If you add in more and more air to a balloon the balloon will stretch to accommodate to the amount of air you blow in.
- At the base of the bladder there are also sphincter muscles that contract to hold in your urine. During urination, these muscles relax allowing the urine in the bladder to freely flow out of the urethra and body. If you didn't have these muscles then once urine would be transferred into the bladder it would just leak out. The muscles allow your bladder to hold your pee.
The structure of the bladder allows it to perform its function in multiple ways.
Sources:
http://www.biology4kids.com/files/systems_excretory.html
http://www.kidneyhealthcare.com/2010/02/organs-of-urinary-system-and-their.html
Analogy: The Kidneys Are Like
Water Treatment Plants
|
| https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Illustration _of_a_typical_drinking_water_treatment_process.png |
The kidneys are like water treatment plants because...
- in order for the both the blood and water to get cleaned, it needs to pass through the kidneys and the treatment plant.
- their goal is to make sure that the water is safe to drink or use, exactly like how the purpose of the kidneys is to make sure the blood is safe and doesn't contain any harmful molecules.
- after the water is treated it is transported to a storage tank for later use, similarly to how the urine kidneys produce are transported to the bladder so it can be stored until urination.
Kidneys are similar to water treatment plants in many ways. If they were water treatment plants, then the bladder would be the water storage tanks while the pipes that carry the water would be the ureters.
Structure and Function: Bladder
The functions of your bladder is to store urine inside them until urination occurs. In order for them to be able to efficiently do this, they need specific physical traits.
- Your bladder is slightly stretchy. It's stretch allows it to hold your urine in when you don't pee for a while. If your bladder wasn't stretchy then urine would leak out it if it was full. It is similar to a balloon. If you add in more and more air to a balloon the balloon will stretch to accommodate to the amount of air you blow in.
- At the base of the bladder there are also sphincter muscles that contract to hold in your urine. During urination, these muscles relax allowing the urine in the bladder to freely flow out of the urethra and body. If you didn't have these muscles then once urine would be transferred into the bladder it would just leak out. The muscles allow your bladder to hold your pee.
The structure of the bladder allows it to perform its function in multiple ways.
Sources:
http://www.kidneyhealthcare.com/2010/02/organs-of-urinary-system-and-their.html
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