REALANATOMY
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Like the respiratory and digestive systems, the urinary system is an environmental
exchange system. Like all the exchange systems of the body, the urinary system forms an immense interface with the cardio-
vascular system for the single purpose of regulating the homeostatic balance of the water environment (extracellular matrix)
that surrounds every cell in the body. To make this exchange possible a
large network of microscopic urinary tubes form an intimate
interface with an equally large network of cardiovascular
capillaries. e urinary system consists of two
blood processing centers called the kidneys, two
transport tubes called the ureters, a storage
organ called the bladder, and a drain called the
urethra. e kidneys continually produce
urine, which is then moved via the
ureters to the storage organ, the bladder.
When it is convenient to remove the
urine from the body, contractions in
the wall of the bladder expell the
urine through the urethra.
In order to survive, every
body cell requires a water environ-
ment that is similar to the compo-
sition of the oceans in which
cellular life rst arose. e kidneys
help maintain this intercellular
water environment by ltering the
blood and regulating its contents
so the blood can help maintain
the correct composition of the
extracellular uid that bathes every
cell. By adjusting the amount of
water in the plasma and the various
plasma constituents, which are
either conserved for the body or
eliminated in the urine, the kidneys
are able to maintain water and
electrolyte balance within the very
narrow range compatible with life,
despite wide variations in intake
and losses of these constituents
through other avenues.
Find more infomation
about the urinary
system in
Urinary System
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