The Urinary System Flashcards
What are the 4 organs of the urinary System?
Kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, urethra
What are the functions of the urinary System?
Regulation, hormone production, and waste excretion
What does the urinary System regulate?
Blood volume, blood pressure, blood glucose, blood ion composition, and blood pH
What is the function of blood volume in the kidney?
Absorbing or eliminating water in urine
What is the function of blood pressure in the kidneys?
Secreting renin in order to increase or decrease BP
What is the function of blood glucose in the kidneys?
Synthesize new glucose molecules and release it into blood
What is the function of blood ionic composition in the kidneys?
Regulate levels of NA, K, CL, HPO4
What is the function of blood pH in the kidneys?
Excrete H into urine and conserve HCO3 (buffer)
What hormones are produced from the kidneys?
Calcitriol and erythropoietin
What is calcitriol and what does it regulate?
It is an active form of vitamin D that regulates calcium homeostasis
What is the function of erythropoietin?
Stimulate production of red blood cells
What is the formation of urine?
Removal of metabolic wastes, foreign substances, drugs, and environmental toxins
How big is the kidney?
4-5 inches long, 2-3 inches wide, 1 inch thick
How much does a kidney weigh?
4.5-5 ounces
Where are the kidneys located?
Between the 12th thoracic and 3rd lumbar vertebrae
What are the three tissues covering the kidney?
Renal capsule, adipose capsule, and Renal fascia
What is the renal capsule?
It’s the deepest layer of the kidney that is made of dense CT that helps maintain shape and keeps infections out
What is the adipose capsule?
The middle layer of fat covering the kidney that protects and holds the kidneys in place
What is the renal fascia?
The outer layer covering the kidney made of thin dense irregular CT that holds the kidneys to the abdominal wall
What is the functional unit of the kidney?
A nephron
How many nephrons are in each kidney?
1 million
What are the two parts of a nephron?
The renal corpuscle and renal tubule
What does the renal corpuscle contain?
Glomerulus and Bowmans capsule
What is a glomerulus?
Capillary network
What is Bowmans capsule?
Double walled epithial cells
What is the function of the renal corpuscle?
Blood plasma filtration
What does the renal tubule consist of?
Proximal convoluted tubule, loop of Henle, distal convoluted tubule
What is the proximal convoluted tubule?
It Is a highly coiled portion of the renal tubule located in the cortex where reabsorption and secretion take place
Where is the loop of Henle located?
In the cortex and renal medulla
What is the distal convoluted tubule?
A highly coiled portion of the renal tubule located in the cortex that empties in the collecting duct
What are the two types of nephrons?
Cortical nephrons and jextamedullary nephrons
What are cortical nephrons?
Short nephron loops in the renal cortex
What are juxtanedullary nephrons?
Long nephron loops in the Renal Medulla
What are the three parts of urine formation?
Glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption, and tubular secretion
What is urea?
A product of amino acid metabolism in the liver
What is the amount of urea eliminated determined by?
Amount of protein in diet
What percent of urea is excreted in urine?
50%
What is ur Uric acid?
A product of nucleus acid bases (adenine and guanine) metabolism
What percent of uric acid is excreted in urine?
10%
What is urine composed of?
Water, urea, uric acid, electrolytes, ammonia
What is the pH of urine?
4.6-8
How do we take in water?
Drinking, eating foods with water, chemical reactions
How do we lose water?
Excretion by kidneys, evaporation from skin, exhalation, through feces
What are diuretics?
Substances that slow reabsorption of water by kidneys that cause elevated urine flow
Give an example of a diuretic.
Caffeine
What carries urine to the bladder?
Peristalsis waves in ureters
How much urine can the urinary bladder hold?
700-800 mL
What is the detrusor muscle?
Three layers of smooth muscle in the urinary bladder
What is trigone?
It triangular area on the floor of the bladder that has three openings that open into the urethra
What does the internal urethral sphincter do?
Holds in urine
What is the urethra?
Tube conveying urine to the outside of the body
What are kidney stones formed from?
Calcium and uric acid crystals
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
Severe pain, nausea, chills, fever
What causes kidney stones?
Not enough water intake, gout, IBS
What is gout?
A form of arthritis that is a buildup of uric acid in blood
What causes gout?
Too much red meat, alcohol, and rich foods
What are the symptoms of gout?
Sudden attack of severe pain in area, redness, tenderness in joints
Where is gout most common in?
Elbow and big toe
What is nephritis?
Inflammation of kidneys
What are the symptoms of nephritis?
Reduced urination, edema, blood or cloudy urine
What causes nephritis?
Poisons, lupus, medications, other kidney infections
What is cystitis?
A bladder infection caused by E. coli bacteria
What are the symptoms of Crystitis?
Painful, frequent urination
What are the two types of kidney failures?
Acute kidney failure and chronic kidney failure
What is acute kidney failure?
Lack of urine produced caused by nephritis, injury, heart failure, poisoning
What is chronic kidney failure?
Gradual loss of kidney function caused by other diseases that cause gradual kidney damage over months or years
Give an example of a disease that causes chronic kidney failure.
Diabetes, high BP, lupus, reoccurring kidney infections
