Urinary System Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards for reviewing the urinary system lecture notes.

Urinary System

The main parts of the urinary system: kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.

Renal System

Also called the renal system; its basic function is to remove protein wastes from the body.

Ureters

Muscular tubes that connect the kidneys to the urinary bladder.

Peristalsis

Rhythmic contractions of smooth muscle in the ureter walls to squeeze urine into the urinary bladder.

Urinary Bladder

A storage sac for urine; smooth muscles in its wall contract to push urine out.

Detrusor Muscle

Three layers of smooth muscle in the bladder wall.

Transitional Epithelium

A highly distensible epithelium in the bladder.

Trigone

Triangle at the base of the bladder formed by the openings of the two ureters and the urethra.

Urethra

The tube that transports urine from the bladder outside the body.

Internal Sphincter

Involuntary ring-like muscle that controls the flow of urine out of the bladder; it is made of smooth muscle.

External Sphincter

Voluntary ring-like muscle that controls the flow of urine out of the bladder; it is made of skeletal muscle.

Retroperitoneal

Located behind the peritoneal membrane, against the back wall/last ribs.

Renal Hilum

Medial entry and exit site for the renal artery, renal vein, and ureter.

Nephrons

Microscopic functional units of the kidney that filter blood.

Glomerulus

Specialized kidney capillary used by nephrons to filter blood.

Peritubular Capillaries

Capillary bed surrounding the kidney tubules that reabsorb necessary substances back into the bloodstream.

Afferent Arteriole

Carries blood to the glomerulus.

Efferent Arteriole

Carries blood away from the glomerulus.

Bowman's Capsule

Captures fluid filtered out of the glomerulus.

Proximal Convoluted Tubule

The first part of the uriniferous tubules, capturing fluid from the Bowman's capsule after it is filtered from the glomerulus.

Fenestrated

Glomerular capillaries are more “leaky” than most capillaries.

Podocytes

Cells that surround the glomerular capillaries.

Pedicels

Part of a podocyte that looks like interlocking fingers, creating filtration slits.

Distal Collecting Tubule (DCT)

Drains into the collecting duct; other nephrons also empty into a collecting duct.