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8y: vanessa Wong (18) 3?

uld you know LhaL LhaL Lhe average adulL produces abouL 1.3 llLers of
urlne every day? 1he urlnary sysLem ls one of Lhe ma[or body sysLems ln
Lhe human body, and a parL of Lhe excreLory sysLem. WlLhouL lL, we would
all dle from Lhe lack of ablllLy Lo leL harmful Lhlngs ouL of your body.
1he urlnary sysLem does a number of Lhlngs. noL only does lL remove
urea (proLeln wasLe creaLed by eaLlng and drlnklng), lL also geLs rld of
excess salL and waLer. ?eL anoLher Lhlng lL does ls fllLer blood and removes
wasLe producLs from your body. uld you know LhaL urea ls acLually
produced arLlflclally Lo make ferLlllzer? lL's Lrue!
1here are a loL of dlfferenL Lypes of organs ln Lhe urlnary sysLem. An
arLery carrles Lhe dlrLy blood lnLo Lhe kldneys, and a blue veln Lakes Lhe
fllLered blood back lnLo Lhe hearL. Cne of Lhe organs are
Lhe kldneys. 1hey are dark red ln color, and abouL Lhe slze
of your flsLs. As you mlghL guess, Lhey are ln Lhe shape of
kldney beans. normally, you are born wlLh Lwo kldneys,
buL lL's posslble Lo survlve wlLh only one kldney. Cver 400
gallons of blood flow Lhrough Lhe kldneys
each day Lo be cleaned. Are you wonderlng
where Lhey're locaLed? Well, Lhey're ln Lhe
lower back, below your rlbs. lnslde Lhe
kldneys are mlnuscule fllLers called
nephrons, and Lhey're [ob ls Lo clean your
dlrLy blood. 1wo Lubes called Lhe ureLers are Lhe means of LransporLlng
blood from Lhe kldney lnLo Lhe bladder. 1he bladder ls also
one of Lhe ma[or organs ln Lhe urlnary sysLem. lL sLores all
Lhe urlne from Lhe kldneys. 1he bladder acLs llke a balloon,
as lL lnflaLes as more urlne enLers. A healLhy bladder can
comforLably hold 16 ounces of urlne for a few hours. ln Lhe bladder are 4
round muscles called sphlncLers, Lwo locaLed aL Lhe boLLom of Lhe ureLers,
and Lwo aL Lhe ureLhra 1hey conLrol how much urlne enLers Lhe bladder,
and sLop urlne from leaklng ouL. 1he ureLhra ls Lhe Lube LhaL allows urlne Lo
exlL your body. uld you know LhaL urlne ls 93 waLer and only 3 urea?
1echnlcally, lL's cleaner LhaL your skln!
?ou mlghL be wonderlng: Pow does Lhe urlnary sysLem work? llrsL, Lhe
arLery Lakes Lhe dlrLy blood and urea ouL of Lhe bloodsLream lnLo Lhe
kldney, where lL ls Lhen fllLered by Lhe nephrons. 1he urlne ls Lhen empLled
lnLo Lhe bladder Lhrough Lhe ureLers. 1he
kldneys send a llLLle blL of urlne every 10-13
seconds, and Lhe bladder swells up lnLo a
round shape as more urlne enLers. Cnce Lhe
bladder ls full, Lhe nervous sysLem sends
slgnals Lo Lhe braln Lelllng lL LhaL you need Lo
go Lo Lhe baLhroom. When you wanL Lo go, Lhe
braln sends slgnals Lo Lhe bladder Lelllng lL Lo
squeeze and Lelllng Lhe sphlncLers Lo relax, Lhus allowlng Lhe urlne Lo pass.
llnally, Lhe urlne exlLs your body Lhrough Lhe ureLhra. uo you Lhlnk LhaL
urlne smells bad? AcLually, lL only sLarLs Lo sLlnk when bacLerla enLers.
Cne of Lhe dlseases assoclaLed wlLh Lhe urlnary sysLem ls Lhe urlnary
LracL obsLrucLlon, whlch means LhaL urlne ls dammlng up Lhe kldneys
and/or Lhe bladder. AnoLher dlsease ls kldney fallure, and LhaL's when Lhe
kldneys fall Lo work, and can'L do any of lLs normal funcLlons, llke fllLerlng
blood. ?eL anoLher dlsease ls Lhe kldney sLone. When you eaL Loo many salL
or soy sauce, small masses of crysLals wlll form and block up Lhe ureLers.
1he blggesL kldney sLone welghed abouL 336
grams. WanL Lo know anoLher dlsease? 1here
ls also a dlsease called mercury polsonlng. lL
ls caused by over exposure Lo mercury, and
causes wldespread effecL on Lhe nervous
sysLem, endocrlne sysLem, mouLh and kldneys. Pow can we sLop all Lhese
dlseases? Well, you should sLay hydraLed (drlnk a loL of waLer) and go Lo
Lhe LolleL regularly. uo noL delay urlnaLlng, or rush urlnaLlng, as you have Lo
empLy ouL your bladder compleLely. ?ou also have Lo pracLlce good hyglene,
especlally around Lhe ureLhra. AnoLher lmporLanL facL ls Lo eaL a balanced
meal, because Loo much salL or soy sauce may form a kldney sLone. ?ou can
also learn a loL [usL from Lhe color of your urlne. lf
lL's clear Lo pale yellow, you're hydraLed and
healLhy. lf your urlne ls dark yellow, you're
dehydraLed, and need more waLer. lf lL's cloudy,
you probably have a cold or an lnfecLlon. lf your
urlne ls brown or darker, lL means LhaL you are
exLremely dehydraLed, and should see Lhe docLor
rlghL away.
1he urlnary sysLem can'L work on lLs own Lhough. Cne of Lhe sysLems lL
lnLeracLs wlLh ls Lhe nervous sysLem. 1he nervous sysLem ls ln charge of
sendlng slgnals from Lhe bladder Lo Lhe braln Lelllng lL you need Lo go Lo Lhe
baLhroom, and sends slgnals from Lhe braln Lo Lhe bladder Lelllng lL Lo
squeeze, and Lelllng Lhe sphlncLer Lo relax. 1he muscular sysLem also works
wlLh Lhe urlnary sysLem, as Lhe sphlncLers LhaL sLop urlne from leaklng ouL
are muscles. ?eL anoLher sysLem LhaL
lnLeracLs wlLh Lhe urlnary sysLem ls Lhe
clrculaLory sysLem. 1he arLery carrles dlrLy
blood Lo Lhe kldneys, and Lhe veln carrles
cleaned blood back lnLo Lhe hearL. 8oLh
arLerles and velns belong Lo Lhe clrculaLory
sysLem. Solld wasLe exlLs Lhrough Lhe blg
lnLesLlne, whlch ls ln Lhe dlgesLlve sysLem. Also, boLh Lhe dlgesLlve sysLem
and Lhe resplraLory sysLem are parL of Lhe excreLory sysLem Loo! uld you
ever noLlce why your urlne smells sLrange afLer eaLlng asparagus? 1haL's
because when your body dlgesLs asparagus, lL produces meLhyl mercapLon,
whlch ls Lhe reason for Lhe sLrange smell. 1hlnk klLLy has urlnaLed
somewhere? CaL urlne glows under a black llghL, so you can easlly locaLed
where your caL has urlnaLed.
now LhaL you read Lhls reporL, l hope you undersLand Lhe urlnary sysLem
more, and appreclaLe whaL lL does. WlLhouL lL, whaL wlll fllLer blood? WhaL
wlll remove urea from your body? WhaL would we do wlLhouL lL? ?ou now
know LhaL urlne can be helpful ln knowlng lf you're healLhy or noL, and you
wlll never look aL urlne Lhe same way agaln.