The Urinary System

​The Nephron

    The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. Blood enters the kidney through the renal artery and travels to the nephron. In the nephron, the renal corpuscles function to filter the blood and make urine.

     The renal corpuscles contain two structures; 1) the glomerulus and 2) the glomerular capsule (also called the Bowman's capsule).

Each nephron is composed of the renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The renal tubule is divided into 4 regions:

1. The Proximal Tubule
2. The Loop of Henle
3. The Distal Tubule
4. The Collecting Duct

     The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. The main function of the nephron is to filter the blood and to create urine.  

In the renal system, peritubular capillaries are tiny blood vessels, supplied by the efferent arteriole, that travel alongside nephrons allowing reabsorption and secretion between blood and the inner lumen of the nephron.

The Ureter

    The ureter can be found on the torso model as well as the kidney model.

The Bladder

The bladder functions to store urine. The urine then travels through the urethra to exit the body.

The Urethra

The function of the urethra is to act as a passageway for urine to leave the body from the bladder.

Urethra in the Female

Urethra in the Male