26.1 Structure and Function of the Urinary System

• The urinary system consists of two kidneys, two ureters, a single urinary bladder, and a single urethra.

26.2 Structure and Function of the Reproductive Systems

• The female reproductive system consists of two ovaries, two uterine (fallopian) tubes, the uterus, including the cervix, the vagina, and external genitals.

• The male reproductive system consists of two testes, a system of ducts, accessory glands, and the penis.

26.4 Bacterial Diseases of the Urinary System

• Cystitis is a common inflammation of the urinary bladder in females.

  • In 25% of untreated cases, cystitis may progress to pyelonephritis, an inflammation of one or both kidneys.

• Leptospirosis is primarily a disease of domestic or wild animals, but it can be passed to humans and sometimes causes severe kidney or liver disease.

• Most diseases of the reproductive systems transmitted by sexual activity have been called sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

  • In recent years, this term has been replaced with sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

26.5 Bacterial Diseases of the Reproductive Systems

• One of the most common reportable, or notifiable, communicable diseases in the United States is gonorrhea, an STI caused by the gram-negative diplococcus Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

• This condition, ophthalmia neonatorum, can result in blindness. Because of the seriousness of this condition and the difficulty of being sure the mother is free of gonorrhea, antibiotics are placed in the eyes of all newborn infants.

• The symptoms of pharyngeal gonorrhea often resemble those of the usual septic sore throat.

• Anal gonorrhea can be painful and accompanied by discharges of pus.

• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a collective term for any extensive bacterial infection of the female pelvic organs, particularly the uterus, cervix, uterine tubes, or ovaries.

• Gummatous syphilis is characterized by gummas, which are a form of progressive inflammation that appear as rubbery masses of tissue.

  • One of the most distressing and dangerous forms of syphilis, called congenital syphilis, is transmitted across the placenta to the unborn fetus.

• The STI known as chancroid (soft chancre) occurs most frequently in tropical areas, where it is seen more often than syphilis.

26.6 Viral Diseases of the Reproductive Systems

• Such genital warts (or condyloma acuminata) are usually transmitted sexually and are an increasing problem.

26.7 Fungal Disease of the Reproductive Systems

• It’s also responsible for occasional cases of NGU in men and for vulvovaginal candidiasis, which is the most common cause of vaginitis.

26.8 Protozoan Disease of the Reproductive Systems

• If the normal acidity of the vagina is disturbed, the protozoan may overgrow the normal microbial population of the genital mucosa and cause trichomoniasis.