Questions

1. What are the major functions of the urinary system?

2. What are the organs of the urinary system?

3. Where are the kidneys located?

4. What is the renal hilum?

5. Blood to be filtered is transported to the kidney by the .

6. Filtered blood leaves the kidney via the .

7. Name the structure that covers the outer surface of the kidney.

8. Describe the structure of the interior of a kidney.

9. Fluids from the ultimately are funneled into the of the .

10. What is the function of the ureters?

11. How is urine propelled through the ureters?

12. What is the urinary bladder? Where is it located?

13. Where do the ureters drain into the urinary bladder?

14. Name the muscle of the urinary bladder wall.

15. Another name for urination is .

16. How is urine expelled from the urinary bladder?

17. Compare the functions of the male and female urethras.

18. What is the function of the internal urethral sphincter muscle? Is it under voluntary or involuntary control?

19. What is the function of the external urethral sphincter muscle? Is it under voluntary or involuntary control?

20. How are both of these sphincters involved with urination?

1. Name the arteries that supply blood to the kidneys.

2. Name the veins that drain blood from the kidneys.

3. Which is anterior to the other?

4. Name the funnel-shaped structure that drains urine from the kidneys to the ureter.

5. Name the structure that conducts urine from the minor calyx to the renal pelvis.

6. How many of each calyx are located in each kidney?

7. Name the outer layer of the kidney. What are its extensions into the middle part of the kidney called? What structures are contained in this outer layer?

8. Name the inner layer of the kidney.

9. Name the part of the kidney where blood vessels and the renal pelvis enter and exit the kidney.

10. Name the part of the kidney between the structure in question 9 and the renal papillae.

11. Name the muscle in the walls of the urinary bladder.

12. What is the trigone? Name the openings that define the trigone.

13. The size and position of the urinary bladder varies with .

14. The volume of the urine also effects the position of .

Animation: Kidney—Gross Anatomy

After viewing the animation, answer these questions:

1. Where are the kidneys located?

2. What is the renal hilum? Name three structures that pass through the hilum.

3. The hilum is continuous with the , which is .

4. How is the kidney tissue divided? Name the structures of the one tissue division that project into the other.

5. The base of each pyramid is located at the junction of these two tissues, the .

6. Name the structure at the apex of the renal pyramids. Where does it project?

7. Several merge to form the larger , which merge to form a single, funnel-shaped .

8. How many lobes are in each kidney? Each lobe consists of .

9. How is the blood carried to the kidneys for filtration?

10. List the series of branches that form from this artery up to and including the glomerulus. Give the locations where each artery is found.

11. Name the initial filtering component of the kidney. Name the functional filtration unit of the kidney. What are its components?

12. Name the arteriole that leaves each glomerulus. Upon leaving the glomerulus, this vessel enters .

13. For nephrons in the renal cortex, a forms around the .

14. List the series of vessels that carry blood as it drains from these capillary networks.

15. What is the destination of the efferent arterioles associated with nephrons at the corticomedullary junction?

16. These capillaries are known as the .

17. Name the sequence of vessels for the blood draining these capillaries.

1. Name the functional filtration unit of the kidney. Approximately how many of these are located in each kidney?

2. Name the two parts to a nephron.

3. Describe the structure of the renal corpuscle. What are its two poles? What structures are located at each pole?

4. Describe the visceral layer of the glomerular capsule. What are podocytes and pedicels?

5. Describe the parietal layer of the glomerular capsule. What is the capsular space?

6. Name and describe the three components of the filtration membrane of the glomerulus.

7. Name and describe the three parts of the renal tubule.

8. What are the structural differences between the thick and thin segments of the nephron loop?

9. Several distal convoluted tubules drain into that pass through the . These merge to form that drain into a .

10. What events occur as the fluid passes through the renal tubule?

11. Describe the two types of nephrons. What percent of the total number of nephrons consist of each type?

12. Describe the blood pathway to the vascular pole of the glomerulus. Name the apparatus located at this point.

13. What are the three parts of this apparatus? What is its function?

14. The efferent arteriole from each glomerulus enters a .

15. For cortical nephrons, where is the peritubular capillary network located? Where does it drain?

16. The efferent arterioles associated with juxtaglomerular nephrons are known as that surround . Where does this blood drain?

Animation: Urine Formation

After viewing the animation, answer these questions:

1. What are the primary functions of the kidneys?

2. In the process of these functions, they regulate . How?

3. Where is urine formed? What are the three processes in its formation?

4. Where does glomerular filtration occur? How does this occur?

5. What is tubular fluid? What occurs to it as it flows through the renal tubule?

6. What occurs to the fluid during tubular reabsorption?

7. How do the solutes move across the tubule wall into the interstitial fluid? Where do they go from there?

8. How does water move through the tubule wall? What percent of water is reabsorbed from each portion of the renal tubule?

9. What percent of the water in the glomerular filtrate returns to the bloodstream? What happens to the remaining water?

10. What event occurs during the process of tubular secretion?

11. Give some examples of waste products involved in this process.

12. What happens to the waste products to prepare them for excretion?

13. Tubular fluid that enters the collecting ducts is called .

14. What determines whether the urine produced is dilute or concentrated?

15. Describe the urine produced when water intake is high and also when water intake is limited.

16. What are the two key factors that determine the kidneys’ ability to concentrate urine?

17. Name the three parts of the renal tubule.

18. Name the specialized cells of the distal convoluted tubule that are part of the juxtaglomerular device.

19. What is the function of the juxtaglomerular device?

20. Name the structure that regulates the final volume and electrolyte content of the urine. What hormone influences this regulation?

21. What is the function of the capsular space?

1. Describe the structure of the urinary bladder.

2. What are the two functions of this organ?

3. What is the function of the female urethra?

4. Give two reasons why urinary tract infections are more common in females.

5. Name the structures that form the trigone of the urinary bladder.

6. Name the first part of the male urethra.

7. Where are sperm formed?

8. Name the four different parts of the male urethra. What is the function of the male urethra?

9. Name the external orifice of the urinary tract.

1. What type of reflex is the micturition reflex? What pathway do the impulses take?

2. How is the reflex coordinated? What signals can influence this reflex?

3. What causes the increase in the frequency of action potentials along this pathway?

4. What is the parasympathetic response to these action potentials? How does the urinary bladder respond to these stimuli?

5. What causes a conscious desire to urinate?

6. What happens if urination is not appropriate?

7. What causes the external urethral sphincter to remain contracted? What does this prevent?

8. When urination is desired, what stimulates the micturition reflex?

9. How does the brain then initiate urination?

In Review

1. Name the connective tissue layer of the urinary bladder that contains blood, lymph vessels, and nerves.

2. Name the three-layered muscle of the urinary bladder.

3. What is this muscle’s function?

4. Describe the transition epithelium of the urinary bladder.

5. What is the function of this epithelium?

6. Name the connective tissue layer that attaches the epithelium to the muscularis mucosa.