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How it works
The kidneys’ function is to clean blood of waste produced by the body. This waste, excreted by the kidneys as urine, passes continuously from the kidneys down the ureters into the bladder. The bladder collects and stores urine so that, under normal circumstances, it can be passed out at will. Normally, in early childhood, we develop the ability to postpone urination until it is convenient and socially acceptable.
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- Kidney
- Ureter
- Bladder
- Detrusor
- Sphincter
- Urethra
- Urethal opening
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The adult bladder can hold as much as 400 - 600 ml of urine, although most people usually first feel the need to empty the bladder when it contains 150 -250 ml. When we are ready to urinate, a signal is sent from the bladder through the neural pathways to the brain. When the signal returns, the bladder muscle (the detrusor) contracts and the sphincter (a ring of muscle around the urethra) relaxes. Contraction of the bladder muscles then presses the urine out through the urethra and the urethral opening. Normally, urination will continue until the bladder is completely empty.
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