Human Anatomy and Physiology - The Urinary System

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to the urinary system, helping students grasp the key elements of human anatomy and physiology as outlined in the lecture.

Urinary System

Composed of the paired kidneys and urinary tract, responsible for the formation and excretion of urine.

Kidneys

Retroperitoneal organs situated against the posterior abdominal wall, responsible for filtering blood and urine production.

Ureters

Paired tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder.

Urinary Bladder

Hollow, distensible organ that stores urine; sits on the floor of the pelvic cavity.

Urethra

The tube that carries urine from the urinary bladder to the outside of the body.

Nephron

The functional unit of the kidney, responsible for filtering blood and producing urine.

Glomerulus

A ball-shaped capillary network within the renal corpuscle of the nephron, where blood filtration occurs.

Erythropoietin

A hormone secreted by the kidneys that stimulates the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow.

Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS)

Hormonal system that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance in the body.

Filtrate

The fluid that passes from the blood into the capsular space during glomerular filtration.

Tubular Reabsorption

The process by which the kidneys return substances from the filtrate back to the blood.

Tubular Secretion

The process of moving substances from the blood into the filtrate to be excreted.

Osmolarity

A measure of the concentration of solutes in a solution, significant in urine production.

Countercurrent Mechanism

Process that creates and maintains the osmotic gradient in the kidneys, affecting urine concentration.

Micturition

The act of discharging urine from the urinary bladder to the outside of the body.