Urinary System

Renin

A substance that is produced in the kidneys to regulate the filtration rate of blood by increasing blood pressure as necessary.

Bowman's Capsule

Capsule surrounding a glomerulus and serving as a collection site for urine.

Calices

Cup shaped structures in the renal pelvis for the collection of urine.

Urethra

Expels urine from the body.

Nephron

Functional unit of the kidney.

Hilum

Portion of the kidney where blood vessels and nerves enter and exit.

Urine

Produced by filtration of water, salts, sugars, urea, and other nitrogenous waste materials such as creatine and uric acid.

Renal Artery

The artery in which blood enters the kidney.

Glomerulus

The group of capillaries in a nephron.

Medulla

The inner soft portion of the kidneys.

Retroperitoneal

The kidneys are located in the

Cortex

The outer protective portion of the kidney.

Filtration

The process of separating solids from a liquid by passing it through a porous (strainer like) substance.

Renal Vein

The vein in which blood leaves the kidney.

Excreting urine

Voiding and micturition.

Renal Tubule

Which carries urine to ducts in the kidney's cortex.

Renal Pelvis

a collecting area in the center of the kidney.

The Urinary System

maintains the proper amount of water in the body and removes waste products from the blood by excreting them through urine.

Two kidneys

organs that remove dissolved waste and other substances from the blood and the urine.

Meatus

the external opening of a canal to the outside of the body.

Bladder

the organ that stores the urine.

Reabsorption

to retain essentials substances the body needs.

Ureters

tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder.