The urinary system

Question 1

The urinary system consists of?

Answer 1

2 x kidneys
2 x ureters
1 x bladder
1 x urethra

Question 2

Excretion

Answer 2

Excretion is the process by which the body eliminates waste.

Question 3

The kidneys are located?

Answer 3

The kidneys are found just above the waist on the back wall of the abdomen.

Question 4

Nephrons

Answer 4

Tiny filtering units divided into two parts.

Question 5

Two parts of the nephron

Answer 5

1. The glomerulus - filtering part.
2. The tubule, where water and essential nutrients are extracted from the blood.

Question 6

The glomerulus

Answer 6

The glomerulus contains a knot of tiny blood capillaries which have very thin walls.

Question 7

Bowman’s capsule

Answer 7

A capsule that surrounds the glomerulus.

Question 8

Function of the kidneys

Answer 8

The kidneys are responsible for filtering nitrogen containing waste, the most common compound of which is urea, out of the bloodstream and regulating the amount of water passed out of the body maintaining the correct balance of salt in the body.

Question 9

How much blood do the kidneys receive every minute through a renal artery?

Answer 9

1 litre.

Question 10

Three stages of filtration?

Answer 10

Filtration
Re-absorption
Collection

Question 11

The ureters

Answer 11

These are two tubes through which urine passes from the kidneys to the bladder.

Question 12

Urethra

Answer 12

The tube through which urine leaves the body. It empties urine from the bladder.

Question 13

The bladder

Answer 13

This is a hollow, thick-walled, muscular organ lying in the lower part of the pelvic basin between the pubic bones and the rectum and it is a reservoir for urine.

The bladder walls are composed of a number of muscular layers, which stretch when the bladder is filling and then contract when it is emptying.

Question 14

Functions of the urinary system

Answer 14

The main function is to help keep the body in homeostasis (the body’s internal environment remaining balanced) by controlling the composition and volume of blood.

It achieves this by removing and restoring selected amounts of water and solutes.

Waste is filtered from the blood and excreted from the body in the form of liquid urine.

Question 15

The Composition of Urine

Answer 15

This amber-coloured liquid is composed of 96%water, 2%urea and 2% other substances, such as ammonia, sodium, potassium, phosphates, chlorides, sulphated and excess vitamins

Question 16

The colour of urine

Answer 16

The colour of urine comes from bilirubin, a bile pigment.

Question 17

Urine Production

Answer 17

About 1.5 litres of urine is produced every 24 hours.

Humans need a minimum of 0.5 litres of water per day for waste removal

Question 18

Urine production is increased/decreased

Answer 18

Urine production is increased by liquid in take and cold weather and decreased by drinking less and any activity or state that increases sweating (hot weather, exercise).

Question 19

Urinary and circulation system

Answer 19

The kidneys purify all the blood in the body.

Question 20

Urinary and endocrine system

Answer 20

The kidneys produces the enzyme renin which helps to regulate blood pressure as part of a system involving hormones.

Question 21

Urinary and skeletal system

Answer 21

The kidneys help to stimulate the production of bone marrow in the long bones.

Question 22

Urinary and the skin

Answer 22

The urinary system removes waste by excretion and therefore links to the other excretory system – the skin