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The Urinary System

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The Urinary System
The urinary system plays a major role in maintaining the salt, water, and pH homeostasis of the blood. It carries out the process of excretion, which is the removal of metabolic waste from the body. The urinary system includes the kidneys, the ureter, the urinary bladder and the urethra. The kidneys produce the urine, the uteter transports the urine, the urinary bladder stores the urine and the urethra passes the urine outside of the body. As the bladder fills with urine, sensory impulses go to the spinal cord and to the brain. The brain can override the urge to urinate. When urination occurs, motor nerve impulses make the bladder contract and the sphincters relax.
The functions of the urinary system include excretion of metabolic wastes, maintenance of water-salt balance and the secretion of hormones. The structure of the kidneys include:
The renal cortex- It is the outer, granulated layer that dips down in between an inner layer called the renal medulla.
The renal medulla- The renal medulla consists of cone-shaped masses called renal pyramids.
The renal pelvis- A central space continuous with the ureter.
The kidney is composed of over 1 million nephrons or renal tubules. The nephrons filter the blood and produce urine. Each nephron is positioned so that the urine flows into a collecting duct. Nephrons enter the same collecting ducts and the collecting ducts eventually enter the renal pelvis.
There are three processes of urine formation:
Glomerular filtration. This is where water, salts, waste molecules move from the glomerulus to the inside of the glomerular capsule.
Tubular reabsorbtion- Nutrients and salt molecules are actively reabsorbed from the convoluted tubules into the peritubular capsillary network, and water flows.
Tubular secretion- Ions and molecules are secreted from the peritubular capillary network into the convoluted

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