KIDNEY AND URINARY TRACT
Where are the kidneys and urinary tract located?
The kidneys are a pair of organs located on the left and right sides of the upper abdomen, behind the intestines on the sides and on either side of the spine. Each kidney is the size of a large orange but shaped like a bean. Ureters (upper urinary ducts) extend from the abdomen to the bladder from the kidneys.
Ureters carry urine produced by the kidneys to the bladder. The bladder stores urine until it is expelled. The urethra (lower urinary tract) is a tubular urinary channel that extends from the bottom of the bladder.
The urethra is the channel through which urine stored in the bladder passes during excretion. The urethra in women is much shorter than in men. In men, the urethra passes through the prostate gland and is located at the bottom of the penis. In men, the urethra also carries sperm.
What are the functions of the kidneys in the body?
The kidneys remove waste materials from the body and maintain the normal balance of fluids and chemicals in the body. They also help control your blood pressure, create certain hormones and regulate the acidity of our blood.
How do kidneys and urinary tract work?
A large blood vessel called the renal artery supplies blood to both kidneys. The renal artery divides into many small blood vessels (capillaries) throughout the kidney. On the outside of the kidneys, tiny blood vessels join together to form structures called glomeruli.
Every glomerul is like a filter. Its glomerular structure keeps blood cells and protein in the bloodstream while allowing waste products and some water and salts to pass from the blood into a small channel called tubule. Each glomerulus and tubule is called a ‘nephron’. There are about a million nephrons in each kidney.
Waste products, water and salts undergo a number of complex reactions as they pass through the tubule, and the fluid remaining at the end of the tubule is called urine. Urine is collected in a structure called the renal pelvis inside the kidney and transmitted to the bladder through the ureters. Urine is stored in the bladder until it goes to the toilet and is emptied.
Some disorders of the kidney and urinary tract
Bladder cancer
Kidney cancer
Cancer of the penis
Prostate cancer
Chronic kidney disease
Cystitis
Diabetic kidney disease
Genitourinary (GU) prolapse
Incontinence (Stress Type)
Incontinence (Pinch type)
Incontinence (urine)
Kidney infection
Kidney stone
Mild to moderate chronic kidney disease
Nephrotic syndrome
Overactive bladder syndrome
Polycystic kidney disease
An enlarged prostate gland
Prostatitis – acute
Prostatitis – chronic
Urethral stricture
Urethritis
Urinary infection in men
Urinary infection in children