The Urinary System

System Integration

food, water intake oxygen intake

Digestive System Respiratory System

elimination
of carbon
dioxide
nutrients, oxygen
water, carbon
salts dioxide

Urinary System
Circulatory System

water
solutes

elimination rapid transport elimination of

of food to and from all excess water
residues living cells salts, wastes
 The Urinary System
•Paired kidneys

•A ureter for
each kidney

• Urinary bladder

• Urethra
• ureters – muscular tubes connecting
renal pelvis to urinary bladder
• urinary bladder – distensible reservoir;
receives bilateral ureters and empties
via midline urethra
smooth muscle forms detrussor
muscle; specialized distally as
internal urethral sphincter
 RENAL PARENCHYMA
• RENAL PYRAMIDS
–EXTENSIONS OF CORTEX (RENAL
COLUMNS) DIVIDE MEDULLA INTO 6 – 10
RENAL PYRAMIDS
–PYRAMID + OVERLYING CORTEX = LOBE
–POINT OF PYRAMID = PAPILLA
–PAPILLA NESTED IN CUP (MINOR CALYX)
–2 – 3 MINOR CALICES MAJOR CALYX
–2 – 3 MAJOR CALICES RENAL PELVIS
–RENAL PELVIS URETER
 KIDNEY FUNCTIONS
• FILTER BLOOD PLASMA, ELIMINATE WASTES
• REGULATE BLOOD VOLUME, PRESSURE
• REGULATE FLUID OSMOLARITY
• SECRETE RENIN
• SECRETE ERYTHROPOIETIN (EPO)
• REGULATE PCO2, ACID-BASE BALANCE
• SYNTHESIZE CALCITROL (VITAMIN D)
• DETOXIFY FREE RADICALS, DRUGS
• GLUCONEOGENESIS
 Kidney Functions
• Regulation of blood ionic composition
• Regulation of blood pH
• Regulation of blood volume
• Regulation of blood pressure
• Maintenance of blood osmolarity
• Production of hormones
• Regulation of blood glucose levels
• Excretion of waste and foreign substances
 Urinary System Function
• Removal of toxic waste products
• Regulation of blood volume
• Regulation of electrolyte balance
• Regulation of acid-base balance
• Regulation of fluids/electrolytes in
tissue fluid
• Production of erythropoietin*
9
Cortex
 NEPHRONS
• FUNCTIONAL UNITS OF KIDNEY
• ~1.2 MILLION PER KIDNEY
• THREE MAIN PARTS
–BLOOD VESSELS
–RENAL CORPUSCLE
–RENAL TUBULE
Nephron – functional unit of kidney
Types of nephrons in the kidney and their associated collecting
duct systems
1, renal corpuscle including
the glomerulus and Bowman’s
capsule;
2, proximal convoluted
tubule;
3, proximal straight tubule;
4, descending thin limb;
5,ascending thin limb;
6, thick ascending limb (distal
straight tubule);
7, macula densa located in the
final portion of the thick
ascending limb;
8, distal convoluted tubule;
9, connecting tubule;
9*, collecting tubule that forms an
arch (arched collecting tubule);
10, cortical collecting duct;
11, outer medullary collecting
duct; and
12, inner medullary collecting
duct.
 Structure of Renal Corpuscle

Bowman’s capsule surrounds capsular space

- podocytes cover capillaries to form visceral layer
- simple squamous cells form parietal layer of capsule
Glomerular capillaries arise from afferent arteriole & form a ball before
emptying into efferent arteriole
 RENAL CORPUSCLE
• GLOMERULUS PLUS CAPSULE
• GLOMERULUS ENCLOSED IN TWO-
LAYERED GLOMERULAR CAPSULE
–“BOWMAN’S CAPSULE”
• FLUID FILTERS FROM GLOMERULAR
CAPILLARIES
–“GLOMERULAR FILTRATE”
• FLUID COLLECTS IN CAPSULAR SPACE
• FLUID FLOWS INTO RENAL TUBULE
 RENAL TUBULE
• LEADS FROM GLOMERULAR CAPSULE
• ENDS AT TIP OF MEDULLARY PYRAMID
• ~3 CM LONG
• FOUR MAJOR REGIONS
–PROXIMAL CONVOLUTED TUBULE
–NEPHRON LOOP
–DISTAL CONVOLUTED TUBULE
–COLLECTING DUCT
Histology of Renal Tubule & Collecting Duct
Proximal convoluted tubule
simple cuboidal with brush border of microvilli
that increase surface area
Descending limb of loop of Henle
simple squamous
Ascending limb of loop of Henle
simple cuboidal to low columnar
forms juxtaglomerular apparatus where makes
contact with afferent arteriole
macula densa is special part of ascending limb
Distal convoluted & collecting ducts
simple cuboidal composed of principal &
intercalated cells which have microvilli
 URINE FORMATION
OVERVIEW
• BLOOD PLASMA → URINE
• FOUR STEPS
–GLOMERULAR FILTRATION
–TUBULAR REABSORPTION
–TUBULAR SECRETION
–WATER CONSERVATION
RENAL CORPUSCLE
histology of u ary system 19

rin
Glomerulus & Podocyte
 Renal Corpuscle – site of filtration
Structure
• consists of (1) glomerulus and (2) Bowman’s capsule
– glomerulus – tufts of capillaries; fed by afferent arteriole
and drains to efferent arteriole
– Bowman’s capsule – double-walled (visceral and
parietal) epithelial capsule
– ~ 200 micrometers diameter
– urinary pole – leads to proximal convoluted tubule;
route of filtrate
– vascular pole – site of afferent (incoming) and efferent
(outgoing) arterioles supplying glomerulus
Filtration Membrane

#1 Stops all cells and platelets

#2 Stops large plasma proteins
#3 Stops medium-sized proteins, not small ones
Net Filtration Pressure

NFP = total pressure that promotes filtration

NFP = GBHP - (CHP + BCOP) = 10mm Hg
 Glomerular Filtration Rate

Amount of filtrate formed in all renal corpuscles of

both kidneys / minute
average adult male rate is 125 mL/min
GFR is to be constant
too high; useful substances are lost due to the speed of fluid
passage through nephron
too low; sufficient waste products may not be removed from the
body
Changes in net filtration pressure affects GFR
filtration stops if GBHP drops below 45mm Hg
Proximal tubule cells
 Proximal convoluted tubule
Structure
tubules formed by simple cuboidal epithelia
apical surface covered with microvilli creating
brush border
- increase surface area for ion absorption
• cells tightly bound to one another to seal off
intercellular space from lumen
- tight junctions and zonula adherens apically;
interdigitating plicae (folds) laterally
interdigitating basal processes contain
numerous mitochondria; creates basal striations;
associated with ion transport
 Distal convoluted tubule

• located within cortex

• approximately 1/3 as long as proximal
• contacts renal corpuscle at macula densa
to form juxtaglomerular apparatus
• morphology similar to straight portion
• function: ion exchange
Medulla
The thin limb of the loop of Henle
Histologically the ascending thick limb & the distal
convoluted tubules are the same
Collecting tubules
Collecting duct
Cortical and Juxtamedullary Nephrons
Juxtaglomerular Apparatus
Juxtaglomerular apparatus
Juxtaglomerular apparatus
 Collecting tubules / ducts
• Start in cortex and descend through medulla
• as ducts coalesce and increase in size, cells of tubes change
from somewhat squamous to cuboidal to columnar
• terminate at tip of renal pyramid where urine enters
into minor calyx
• central nuclei with poorly staining cytoplasm
• At EM level many possess single cilium and sparse
microvilli
 Ureter / Bladder
Histological structure of calyces, renal pelvis, ureter and
urinary bladder broadly similar
mucosa – lined by transitional epithelium over
connective tissue lamina propria
transitional epithelium – impermeable to water and
salts; distendable
lamina propria- dense irregular collagen fibers
smooth muscle layer-
bi-laminar: inner longitudinal and outer circular;
produce peristalsis
adventitia / serosa – connective tissue coat
Ureter
Transitional epithelia changes depending
on how full the urinary bladder is
Dome cells
 Urethra
• fibromuscular tube connecting bladder to external
urethral orifice
• sexually dimorphic
males – terminal duct for both urinary and genital
systems
females – urinary system only
• lining – in both sexes grades from transitional
epithelium adjacent to bladder to stratified
squamous at orifice
males have stratified columnar or pseudostratified
columnar in middle portion
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