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The urinary system has many different organs in order for it to work as a whole. Each organ does different functions. The urinary system consists of the two kidneys, the two ureters, the bladder, the two sphincter muscles, the nerves in the bladder, and the urethra. After your body takes what it needs from the food you eat waste products are then left behind in the blood. The urinary system works with the lungs, skin, and intestines to keep the chemicals and water in your body balanced. The urinary system removes urea from your body.
Urea is made when the foods you eat that are high in protein are broken down in the body. Urea is then carried into the bloodstream to the kidneys by the renal arteries. The kidneys are bean shaped organs. They are a brownish-purplish sort of color.
The outside of the kidneys are very tough, but smooth. This is described as a fibrous tunic. The outer part has millions of nephrons which are the basic unit of the kidney. The kidney is divided into two layers.
The outer cortex and the medulla. When the outer cortex is stripped off you then get the medulla. The inside you have a thick mesh of muscular fibers. This is also smooth, and very even. It is very red in color, unlike the outside which is of brownish-purplish coloring. It is more red in color because it has tiny blood vessels.
The kidneys are located in the posterior part of the abdomen, on both sides of the vertebral column. An easier way to say that would be right below the ribs towards the middle of your back. The right kidney is usually lower in location than the left kidney because of where the liver is. Each kidney is about 11 cm long, 6 cm wide, and 2. 5 cm thick. The kidneys remove urea from the blood through a blood filtering unit called a nephron. There are more than 2 million nephrons in each kidney.
The nephron is part of the homeostatic mechanism of your body. That mechanism maintains your water-salt balance, and it also regulates the amount of urea in your body. The blood enters the kidney through the bowman's capsule under pressure. This just surrounds the tuft of capillaries which is the glomerulus. The liquid just flows through the glomerulus under pressure.
The pressure pushes the liquid out and keeps in the larger cells. This is filtration, because the glomerulus is taking the nutrients in and getting rid of the waste. After the filtering process has finished in that area it then drains into the proximal tubules. The proximal tubules reabsorb the glucose, and amino acids.
Still traveling along it ends up in the loop of here where more water absorption happens. After going through the loop of here it makes a hairpin turn and goes to the distal convoluted tubule. A lot of sodium is reclaimed here. Moving on to the collecting duct which leads to the pelvis of the kidney.
From here it leads the urine to the bladder, and out into the outside world. Next we move on to the ureters. These are located in the pelvis of the body. These aren't organs, but they are an essential part of the urinary system.
These are the tubes that carry the urine from the kidneys to the bladder. There are two of them because there is one for each kidney. The one leading from the right is slightly shorter than the one leading from the left. They are known as the pipelines to the bladder. They are about 8 to 10 cm long. They are constantly contracting and relaxing, which is referred to as peristalsis, to force urine downward.
The ureters act as a valve to prevent the back flow of urine into the kidney. If urine is left to sit there in the kidneys or the ureters, then this can result in a kidney infection. The ureters allow small amounts of urine into the bladder every 10 to 15 seconds. The area where the ureters enter the bladder is called the trigone.
They get the urine to put into the bladder through the collecting duct. The ureters have thick walls, and they " re very narrow. It is comprised of three coats of tissue: mucosal, fibrous, and muscular layers. The mucous coat is smooth, and a bit slippery. Each ureter is cylindrical in shape. It is located near the lower end of the renal pelvis.
After the ureters receive the urine from the collecting duct, they contract and the urine then releases into the bladder. The urinary bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that stores urine. It is shaped like a balloon. It is located behind the pubic bone, in the lower abdomen, and is protected by the pelvis. The bladder is held in place by the ligaments that connect it to the pelvis.
The bladder is connected to the urethra, and the opening for the urethra from the bladder is called the bladder neck. The muscles in the bladder neck are called sphincters. The sphincters tighten around the urethra to prevent urine from leaking. When the volume of urine in the bladder reaches about 250 cc the brain sends impulses to the internal sphincter causing it to relax. This causes the muscles to push downward, and release the urine. As the bladder contracts, or squeezes in the urine is released out of the body via the urethra.
The tissues of the bladder are isolated from urine and toxic substances by a layer of tissue that doesn't allow bacteria to attach or grow on the bladder wall. The layers of the bladder are fascial, muscular, submucous, and mucous layer. Urethra is the tube that carries the urine from the bladder to the outside world. It is lined with mucous membranes. Male and female urethra's differ in many ways. The female has a shorter urethra than the male.
The female urethra is about 3. 8 cm and the male is about 20 cm long. The female urethra is part of the urinary system, and the male urethra is part of the urinary system and the reproductive system. The female urethra goes right from the bladder to the outside, and the male urethra passes through the prostate gland after leaving the bladder and reproductive system. The urethra is located just below the bladder. That's how the urinary system works. The blood flows though the kidneys, and is filtered and made into urea.
It then travels to the ureters, which contract allowing the urine to flow to the bladder. After about 250 cc's the bladder will start contracting and this allows you to urinate. Before it goes out of the body though, it goes through the urethra and then finally exits the body. They work as whole, because they all perform different functions to get one job done. As you get older, the urinary system is affected.
The kidney starts losing some of it's structure, and it loses it's ability to remove wastes from the blood. Your ureter muscles start weakening as well, along with the bladder and urethra. This can cause more urinary infections because if your muscles don't tighten then they may not empty your bladder fully. When you lose your muscle strength, it also causes incontinence which is the unwanted leakage of urine. It's also uncontrollable at times. According to Webster's Dictionary pathophysiology means the altered functions in an individual organ or system due to a disease.
Interstitial Cystitis, or IC is a chronic bladder disorder. This disease affects the bladder. The bladder starts inflaming and the inflammation can lead to scarring or stiffening of the bladder wall, decreased bladder capacity, pinpoint bleeding, and in rare cases ulcers. Interstitial Cystitis has many symptoms. It is most like the symptoms of an infection, but you don't have any bacteria in your urine.
In most cases, it takes a while to find that you have it. Daily life becomes very difficult to live because you " re in constant pain. The causes of IC are still unknown, although they do have a few assumptions. Health researchers believe that IC may be caused by possibly fastidious infection, a breakdown of GAG layer in the bladder wall, possible mast cell involvement and neurogenic inflammation. Neurogenic inflammation occurs during an injury. Fastidious infection is just an infection with micro-organisms.
The breakdown of GAG layer in the bladder wall is another theory, and this just means that the protective layer outside the bladder that's protecting it from chemicals is now breaking down and not being able to perform at it's optimal function. The GAG layer is an inner lining of the bladder wall and it protects it from harmful chemicals from the urine. When this breaks down, the urine leaks out damaging the bladder causing painful urination and a regular basis of pain. IC is not a communicable disease, although it is thought to be hereditary.
They think that this is also a risk factor. Another risk factor is bladder problems, and you can develop this disease after having surgery in a hospital as well. The risk factors of this disease are very vague though, and they don't have much pin point facts about it. In order to diagnose this disease, the patients complete a voiding diary over a period of time. This will allow the patient and physician to see the voiding patterns. When the doctor suspects that it is IC then he will do other tests to see if it can be any other urinary problem.
Once he is set on IC, then he does a hydro distention, by distending the bladder with water. They can then view the bladder walls, and look for any signs of hemorrhages and damage. The treatment for IC is just to reduce the symptoms. There is no cure. You can treat it be oral drugs and changing your eating patterns.
You treat it by nerve stimulants, and other drugs. Foods that are highly acidic and alcoholic, even salty will affect the flares of these pains. Considerations when a person has this disease is that they " re in pain, and you can't make them do a lot of things. If they can't get up, then provide the best treatment you can by them laying down. A C.
N. A will also have to watch their intake, to make sure the diet is still in affect so not to flare up any pains. Also, make sure they stop smoking because smoking is a major cause of bladder cancer. Do range of motion on the person with IC, because small exercise helps with relief of the symptoms. You may also do bladder training with your patient, to help them not use the bathroom so frequently. The training method is keep a schedule of when they should urinate, and stick to the schedule.
If they have to go before then find a distraction to help them not think about it. If worse comes to worse, surgery is a possible answer too.
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