The Urinary System: Words to Know

   

   Bladder                        A triangle-shaped, hollow organ located in the lower abdomen.
   It is held in place by ligaments that are attached to other organs and the pelvic bones.

   Bowman's capsule      Cupshaped end of a nephron that encloses a glomerulus.

   Filtration                      Movement of water and dissolved materials through a membrane
   from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure.

   Glomerulus                 Network of capillaries enclosed by a Bowman's capsule.

   Henle's loop                Looped portion of a renal tubule.

   Hilus                            Indentation or depression on the surface of an organ such as
   a kidney.

   Kidneys                        A pair of purplish-brown organs located below the ribs toward
   the middle of the back

   Micturition                   Urination, or the elimination or voiding of urine from the
   urinary bladder.

   Nephrons                    Urine-forming structures in the kidneys.

   Peristalsis                    Series of wavelike muscular contractions that move material in
   one direction through a hollow organ.

   Renal corpuscle           Part of a nephron that consists of a glomerulus enclosed by a
   Bowman's capsule.

   Renal cortex                Outermost layer of the kidney.

   Renal medulla                         Middle layer of a kidney.

   Renal pelvis                 A cavity at the innermost area of a kidney that connects to the
   ureter.

   Renal pyramids            Triangular or pie-shaped segments of the renal medulla in which
   urine production occurs.

   Renal tubule                 Twisting, narrow tube leading from the Bowman's capsule in a
   nephron.

   Sphincter                     Circular muscles that help keep urine from leaking by closing
   tightly like a rubber band around the opening of the bladder.

   Urea                             Main nitrogen-containing waste excreted in the urine,
   produced when the liver combines ammonia and carbon dioxide.

   Ureter                           Muscular tube that carries urine from the renal pelvis in a
   kidney to the urinary bladder.

   Urethra                         Thin-walled tube that carries urine from the urinary bladder
   to the out-side of the body.

   Urinary bladder           Hollow, collapsible, muscular sac that stores urine temporarily.(see
   Bladder)

   Urine                           Fluid formed by the kidneys from blood plasma.