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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 .
The ureters are muscular ducts that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In the human adult, the ureters are usually 25–30 cm (10–12 in) long. In humans, the ureters arise from the renal pelvis on the medial aspect of each kidney before descending towards the bladder on the front of the psoas major muscle. The ureters cross ...
Diagram showing the basic physiologic mechanisms of the kidney. The kidney's ability to perform many of its functions depends on the three fundamental functions of filtration, reabsorption, and secretion, whose sum is called renal clearance or renal excretion. That is: Urinary excretion rate = Filtration rate – Reabsorption rate + Secretion ...
Each kidney, with its adrenal gland is surrounded by two layers of fat: the perirenal fat present between renal fascia and renal capsule and pararenal fat superior to the renal fascia. The human kidney is a bean-shaped structure with a convex and a concave border. [14]
The kidney function can also be assessed with medical imaging. Some forms of imaging, such as kidney ultrasound or CT scans, may assess kidney function by indicating chronic disease that can impact function, by showing a small or shrivelled kidney. [citation needed].
The renal circulation supplies the blood to the kidneys via the renal arteries, left and right, which branch directly from the abdominal aorta. Despite their relatively small size, the kidneys receive approximately 20% of the cardiac output .
Blood enters the kidney through the renal artery, which in the multilobar kidney then branches in the region of the renal pelvis into large interlobar arteries that pass through the renal columns. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] The pyramids consist mainly of tubules that transport urine from the cortex, that produces it by blood filtration, to the tips of the ...
It contains the renal corpuscles and the renal tubules except for parts of the loop of Henle which descend into the renal medulla. It also contains blood vessels and cortical collecting ducts. The renal cortex is the part of the kidney where ultrafiltration occurs. [2] Erythropoietin is produced in the renal cortex. [3]