The Urinary System Flashcards
The urinary system consists of those organs that function to?
- Produce Urine
2. Eliminate it from the body
What are the organs that make up the urinary system?
- Two kidneys
- Two ureters
- One bladder
- One urethra
Also male and female genitalin
The urinary tract is the most important mechanism for maintaining what?
A constant internal environment for the body essential for life.
What is the composition of blood determined by?
Not by what the mouth ingests but by what the kidney keeps
True or false. The right kidney is usually slightly larger than the left kidney.
False - the left is slightly larger.
Where are the kidney’s located?
Either side of the spinal column just above the waist line (below diaphragm)
What normally encases each kidney and what does it do?
A heavy cushion of fat encases each kidney and holds it in position.
What anchors the kidneys to surrounding structures and helps maintain normal position?
Connective tissue
What brings blood to each kidney?
A large branch of abdominal artery called the renal artery.
What are the microscopic structures in the kidneys called?
Nephrons; about 1.25 million per kidney make up the bulk of kidney substances (this is where the kidney’s work is actually done.)
What are the three main parts of nephrons?
- Glomerulus
- Tubule
- Bowmans capsule
What are kidneys?
High vascular organs
How much blood flows through the kidney every minute?
1200 ml
Kidneys process the blood before doing what?
Returning it to general circulation.
What is a nephron shaped like?
A tiny funnel with an unusual stem.
What are the functions of the kidneys?
- To produce and secrete urine.
- Fluid and electrolyte balance
- Acid-base balance (proper P.H.)
Why is the kidney’s function of producing and secreting urine so important?
It is a life preserving function because the stability of the body’s internal environment depends on it.
How do the kidney’s maintain fluid and electrolyte balance?
By varying the amounts of water and electrolytes leaving the blood in urine.
How do kidneys maintain the bodies acid base balance?
- Acids are constantly being produced by cell metabolism.
- Nitrogenous wastes from protein metabolism (notably urea) exit via kidney.
- Certain foods can cause acids or bases to be formed in the body.
- Kidneys balance these.
When kidneys fail, what things are not held to their normal concentrations?
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Chloride
- ^ These 3 are electrolytes - Nitrogenous wastes (e.g. urea) from protein metabolism.
What happens if the body’s internal environment is not returned to normal during kidney failure?
Inevitable death results