Urinary Sytem

Function:

• Urine production

  • • • Removes waste products and toxins

      • Maintains electrolyte and fluid homeostasis

• Regulates blood pressure via RAAS system

• Produces EPO (erythropoietin hormone) stimulating the bone marrow to produce RBC

CKD patients become anaemic due to a reduction in EPO. EPO can be given as therapy. Lance Armstrong famously used EPO to improve his oxygen carrying capacity in the Tour de France. 

The ureters are tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder. 

The bladder receives urine from the ureters/ kidneys, storing it, before excreting it via the urethra. 

The urethra connects the bladder to the external environment. It facilitates the excretion of urine. A catheter can be thought of as an artificial urethra. 

In men it also secretes semen (sperm and seminal fluid) collected from the prostate. It is on average 20cm ( 7 or 8 inches) but don't worry that includes a prostatic, membranous, bulbar as well as penile sections!

In females the urethra is far shorter (3cm). This means that urine infections are more common. 

1. Martins, F., Kulkarni, S. and Köhler, T., 2019. Textbook of Male Genitourethral Reconstruction. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-21447-0_2: SpringerLink. 

2. Training.seer.cancer.gov. 2022. Urethra | SEER Training. [online] Available at: <https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/urinary/components/urethra.html#:~:text=In%20females%2C%20the%20urethra%20is,transports%20both%20urine%20and%20semen.> [Accessed 4 October 2022].