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Proventus
Urinary System
Eliminates unwanted substances from the blood via the formation of urine by the kidneys helping to maintain the correct balance of fluids, salts and minerals in the body.
The urinary system is composed of:
- Two Kidneys (reddish organs resembling beans in shape situated either side of the abdomen towards the back of the body just above the waist). The functions of the kidney can be divided into two groups: secretion of hormones, and extracellular homeostasis of pH and water. The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney.
- Two Ureters (Tube like vessels which convey the urine produced by the kidneys into the bladder. Urine is propelled to the bladder by the contraction of a muscular layer within the walls of the ureter while mucosal layer secretes mucus preventing urine coming into contact with the cells of the ureter.
- Bladder (Collects the urine from the ureters. When empty it contains many folds which gradually smooth out as it fills, like the ureters mucus is produced to isolate body tissue from the urine. As the bladder fills stretch receptors initiate a conscious desire to urinate.
- Uretha (conducts the urine to the outside).
The production rates of urine is controlled by:
- Hormones.
- Influenced by:
- Blood flow and pressure.
- Consumption of fluids and nutrients.
- Fluid loss.
- Bodily cycles such as sleeping and waking (urine production levels drop when a person is asleep).
As blood flows through the kidneys it is filtered and cleansed helping to remove the waste products continuously produced from the thousands of metabolic processes by the millions of cells throughout the body.
Another part of the process is the regulation of:
- Acidity.
- Chemical Composition.
- Concentration.
- Salinity
- Volume.
Of blood, lymph and other body fluids.
The hormonal control of the kidneys monitor that which is released and that which is retained during the production of urine, thus maintaining the chemical balance of the body.