urology and nephrology terms

Question 1

glans penis

Answer 1

enlarged tip of the penis; glans is covered by the prepuce (or foreskin)

Question 2

urinary bladder/sac

Answer 2

elastic muscular organ that stores urine produced by the kidneys; urine drains into the bladder from ureters and exits the bladder in the urethra

Question 3

epididymis (plural epididymides)

Answer 3

sits on the surface of each testis; receives sperm produced by the testes; the location of sperm maturation and storage until released during ejaculation

Question 4

stone

Answer 4

found in may parts of the body, usually formed from the accumulation of mineral salts within an organ; may form in the kidney, renal pelvis, ureters, urinary bladder, or urethra; also called a calculus (plural is calculi)

Question 5

kidney

Answer 5

one is located on either side of the spine at the level of the lower ribs; each consists of thousands of nephrons; glomerulus portion of each nephron filters waste products and excess water and electrolytes out of the blood to produce urine; urine collects in the renal pelvis and drains out of the kidney into the ureter and on to the urinary bladder for storage; blood is delivered to each kidney by the renal arteries and carried away by renal veins

Question 6

testis (plural testes)

Answer 6

male reproductive organs that produce sperm and testosterone; the two testes are suspended outside the body in the scrotum; as sperm are produced, they travel to the epididymis for storage and maturation; another term for testis is testicle

Question 7

prostate gland

Answer 7

one of the male reproductive glands; this single gland surrounds the urethra at the base of the bladder; it secretes milky fluid that makes up much of the liquid portion of semen and serves to nourish sperm

Question 8

renal pelvis (plural renal pelves)

Answer 8

an area inside each kidney where urine collects as it is being made; each renal pelvis then drains into one of the ureters

Question 9

sperm

Answer 9

male reproductive cells; produced in the testes and ejaculated from the body in semen; contain one-half of normal complement of chromosomes; when sperm fertilizes ovum (which also has one-half set of chromosomes from the mother), a new baby is created with a full set of chromosomes

Question 10

ureter

Answer 10

tube leading away from the renal pelvis of each kidney; carries urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder

Question 11

urethra (plural urethrae or urethras)

Answer 11

the single urethra leads out of the bladder and carries urine to the outside of the body; the external opening is the meatus

Question 12

urine

Answer 12

fluid produced by nephrons of each kidney as they filter wastes, water, and dissolved substances from the blood; passage of urine from the body may be referred to urination, micturition, or voiding

Question 13

vas deferens (plural vasa deferentia)

Answer 13

a long tube that carries sperm from the epididymis to the urethra; reproductive glands connected to the vas deferens add fluids to the sperm as they pass by, making semen

Question 14

seminal vesicle

Answer 14

male reproductive glands found behind the bladder; add fluids to sperm as they pass by in the vas deferens