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Urinary System

Last Updated on Nov 27, 2023
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Components of the Urinary System

  • The urinary system comprises the kidneys, ureter, urinary bladder, and urethra (1 Trusted Source
    Components of the Urinary System

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    ).

Kidneys

  • The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that are reddish brown in colour. Each kidney is around the size of a fist (2 Trusted Source
    Kidneys

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    ).
  • If one kidney is damaged or removed, the other kidney may grow and perform up to 75% of normal kidney function (2 Trusted Source
    Kidneys

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    ).
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Nephrons

  • Each kidney has around one million small filtering units known as nephrons. These nephrons are often regarded as the functional unit of the kidney (3 Trusted Source
    Kidneys: Anatomy

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    ).

Normal Range of Urine Output Per Day

  • The normal urine output of an adult is between 800 and 2,000 ml per day, with a fluid consumption of about 2 liters per day (4 Trusted Source
    Urine 24-hour volume

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    ).

Blood Filtration in Kidneys

  • All the blood in our body passes 300 times through the kidneys every day (5 Trusted Source
    How does the urinary system work?

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    ).
  • The kidneys filter around 1,700 liters of blood per day (5 Trusted Source
    How does the urinary system work?

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    ).
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Urinary Bladder

  • The bladder is a hollow, muscular, balloon-shaped organ that serves as a urine reservoir. In other words, bladder is responsible for storing urine until it is expelled from the body (6 Trusted Source
    The Urinary Tract & How It Works

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    ).
  • The urinary bladder may hold up to 500 ml of urine in women and 700 ml in men (5 Trusted Source
    How does the urinary system work?

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    ).
  • The bladder swells when it is full and contracts to empty the urine. The sensation of needing to urinate is a signal from the bladder that it's nearing its capacity (7 Trusted Source
    Urine and Urination

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    ).
  • People may feel the need to urinate when their bladder contains between 200 and 350 ml of urine (8 Trusted Source
    Bladder

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    ).

Male Urethra vs Female Urethra

  • The urethra in men is around 20 to 25 cm long, which connects the urinary bladder to the penis (9 Trusted Source
    Histology, Male Urethra

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    ).
  • Women have a shorter urethra than men, which is around 3 to 4 cm (1.5 inches) in length (10 Trusted Source
    Urethra

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    ).
  • Women's shorter urethra and it being closer to anus are a contributing factor to their increased susceptibility to UTIs (11 Trusted Source
    Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults

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    ).

Urinary Incontinence

  • Urinary incontinence occurs when a person leaks urine involuntarily due to a loss of bladder control (12 Trusted Source
    Urinary tract infection in women

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    ).

References:

  1. Components of the Urinary System - (https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/urinary/components/ )
  2. Kidneys - (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/kidneys )
  3. Kidneys: Anatomy - (https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/urinary/components/kidney.html )
  4. Urine 24-hour volume - (https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003425.htm )
  5. How does the urinary system work? - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279384/ )
  6. The Urinary Tract & How It Works - (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/urinary-tract-how-it-works )
  7. Urine and Urination - (https://medlineplus.gov/urineandurination.html )
  8. Bladder - (https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bladder)
  9. Histology, Male Urethra - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542238/ )
  10. Urethra - (https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/urinary/components/urethra.html )
  11. Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults - (https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/urinary-incontinence-older-adults )
  12. Urinary tract infection in women - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8077804/ )
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