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The ureters are tubes composed of smooth muscle that transport urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder.In an adult human, the ureters typically measure 20 to 30 centimeters in length and about 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter.
The human urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra.The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressure, control levels of electrolytes and metabolites, and regulate blood pH.
In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. [1] [2] In humans, the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. The typical adult human bladder will hold between 300 and 500 ml (10 and 17 fl oz) before the urge to empty occurs, but can hold considerably more. [3] [4]
The urinary tract including the ureters, as well as their function to drain urine from the kidneys, has been described by Galen in the second century AD. [62] The first to examine the ureter through an internal approach, called ureteroscopy, rather than surgery was Hampton Young in 1929. [61]
The excretory system is a passive biological system that removes excess, unnecessary materials from the body fluids of an organism, so as to help maintain internal chemical homeostasis and prevent damage to the body. The dual function of excretory systems is the elimination of the waste products of metabolism and to drain the body of used up ...
In monotremes, the ureters open into the urogenital sinus, which is connected to the urinary bladder and cloaca, [65] and urine is excreted into the cloaca instead of the urethra. [66] [65] Structurally, kidneys vary between mammals. [67] Which structural type a particular species will have depends mainly on the body mass of the species. [68]
In the human female, the urethra is about 4 cm long, [10] [12] having 6 mm diameter, [12] and exits the body between the clitoris and the vaginal opening, extending from the internal to the external urethral orifice. The meatus is located below the clitoris.
In both cases the name reflects the shape of the structure, and in the case of the renal pelvis, it also reflects the function. The name reflects that each renal pelvis collects urine from the calyces and funnels it into the ureter like a wash basin collects water and funnels it into a drain pipe.