Review: Introduction to the Urinary System

Here is what we have learned from Introduction to the Urinary System:

• The urinary system rids the body of waste materials, regulates fluid volume, maintains electrolyte concentrations in body fluids, controls blood pH, secretes erythropoietin, and renin.
• The components of the urinary system are the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.
• The primary organs of the urinary system are the kidneys, which are located retroperitoneally between the levels of the twelfth thoracic and third lumbar vertebrae.
• The cortex and medulla make up the parenchyma of the kidney.
• The central region of the kidney is the renal pelvis, which collects the urine as it is produced.
• The functional unit of the kidney is a nephron, which consists of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule.
• The ureters transport urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder.
• The urinary bladder is a temporary storage reservoir for urine.
• The urethra is the final passageway for the flow of urine.
• The flow of urine through the urethra is controlled by an involuntary internal urethral sphincter and voluntary external urethral sphincter.