Functioning of the Renal System - Paper Example

A persons body absorbs essential nutrients from the food he/she consumes. The body then uses the absorbed nutrients to regulate various bodily functions, such as self-repair and energy production. After the body has taken in the nutrients from the foodstuffs, waste products are left behind in the bloodstream and bowel. At this point, the renal system functions with the kidneys, intestines, and skins all of which are parts that also secrete waste to maintain the water and chemical levels in the body optimized. Also, an adult produces approximately a quart of urine on a daily basis.

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The amount of urine a person produces is dependent on factors such as his/her fluid level intake, food consumed and the level of a persons perspiration. The urinary system is responsible for excreting urea from the blood. Urea is created from meals containing proteins. Urea is then carried via the bloodstream to the kidneys. The kidneys have a bean-shaped structure with the size of a fist. They are situated near the middle section of the back, and slightly below the ribcage. The kidneys then absorb the urea from the blood by using nephrons.

Each nephron contains blood capillaries, which are called glomerulus as well as a small tubule structures that are called the renal tubule. Then, urea in conjunction with water and other waste products creates urine as it moves through the nephrons and the renal tubules until it reaches the kidneys. Urine then travels from the kidneys to the urinary bladder through thin tubes known as ureters. The ureters are approximately ten inches in length. The ureter muscles constantly tighten or relax so as to force the urine to move downwards away from the kidneys. If the urine stands still in the ureters, a kidney infection can occur.

Nevertheless, small volumes of urine are deposited into the urinary bladder in every 10 to 20 seconds from the ureters. The urinary bladder is shaped like an inflated balloon. It is positioned on a persons pelvis, and it is held by ligaments fastened to the pelvic bones. The urinary bladder stores a persons urine until he/she is ready to go to the bathroom to empty it. On a healthy person, the bladder can hold approximately 16 ounces, also equivalent to 2 capfuls, for 2 to 5 hours comfortably. The sphincter muscles help the urinary bladder from leaking urine uncontrollably.

This is because the sphincter muscles close tightly on the opening of the urinary bladder into the urethra. The urethra is made up of tubes that allow urine to move outside the body. Also, there are nerves in the bladder that informs a person when to urinate or empty the urinary bladder. As the bladder becomes filled with urine, a person attains a sensation of the need to urinate. This sensation becomes greater as the bladder becomes fills to its full capacity. At that time, the nerve endings situated at the urinary bladder sends a message to the brain, pertaining the need to urinate.

Also, when a person urinates, the nerve cells in the urinary bladder again sends a message to the brain, which then signals the urinary bladder muscles to either tighten or relax. This process aids in squeezing the urine accumulated in the bladder out of the body through the urethra. The sphincter muscles then tighten after a successful urination to protect the urinary bladder from leaking urine. Also, when this process occurs in a normal sequence, a normal urination process takes place.

Anatomy and Physiology of the Renal System

The urinary system constitutes of 5 primary body organs. These include the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, urethra as well as the nephron unit. The kidneys are considered to the most important excretory organs in the renal system. They are positioned in the retroperitoneal space and held in place by the renal fascia, which is a connective tissue. Also, they are cushioned by the adipose tissues and partially enclosed by the lower rib cage. The kidneys are reddish-brown and measure an estimated 4 inches by 2 inches in size. Also, they have three main parts that aid in their functions, which include the renal pelvis, renal medulla, as well as the renal cortex.

The kidneys contain approximately a million nephron units. A person is born with them, and they do not increase after birth. Also, they cannot be repaired once destroyed. The nephron units are made up both the tubular component renal tubules and the vascular component. The urinary bladder is positioned behind the symphysis pubis, and it is made up of four layers. They include the serosa, submucosa, detrusor muscles as well as the mucous membrane. Also, so that it can stretch when collecting urine, the bladder contains ligaments known as the rugae. The bladder also contains a triangular area on its lower side that is known as the trigone.

Types of Species Mostly Associated with UTIs

The UTIs mainly affects the human beings, both men, and women. Nevertheless, the women are mostly affected by the UTI infections since their urethra is shorter in comparison to that of men. This makes the UTI disease-causing bacteria to have only a short distance to travel from the urethra to the urinary bladder. This phenomenon has made the prevalence of the UTIs among women in different parts of the world very high. Past research has illustrated that UTI infections account for an estimated 25% of all clinical bacterial infections reported by women (Al-Badr and Al-Shaikh, 2013).

Also, among the 8 million episodes of the UTIs that occur in the U.S. each year, approximately 95 percent of all patients are women (Gibson and Toscano, 2012). It has also validated through research that approximately 1 out of every 3 women must be treated for a UTI infection before they can attain the age of 24 (Gibson and Toscano, 2012). These findings illustrate that the women are the persons most affected by the UTI infections. The prevalence of the high infection rates of the UTIs among the women has also been supported by the heightened antibiotic resistance of various UTIs treating drugs in their bodies (Ussai et al. 2016). The prevalence of various forms of bacterial biofilms in the womens renal system has also increased their infection rates with UTIs (Soto, 2014).

References

Al-Badr, A., & Al-Shaikh, G. (2013). Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections Management in Women: A review. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 13(3), 359367.

Gibson, K., & Tascano, J. (2012). Urinary Tract Infection Update. American Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(2), 82-86.

Soto, S. M. (2014). Importance of Biofilms in Urinary Tract Infections: New Therapeutic Approaches. Advances in Biology, 1-13. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/543974

Ussai, S., Rizzo, M., Liguori, G., Umari, P., Pavan, N., Cai, T., . . . Trombetta, C. (2016). Antibiotic Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) In Primary Care: An Italian Pilot Study. Journal of Pharmacovigilance, 4(4). doi:10.4172/2329-6887.1000215