Urinary System

• Arteriole


  small artery
• Calciferol


  Active form of vitamin D, secreted by the kidney
• Calyx or calix 


  Cup-like collecting region of the pelvis
• Catheter


  Tube for injecting or removing fluids
• Cortex


  Outer region of an organ
• Cortical


  Pertaining to the cortex
• Creatinine


  Nitrogenous waste excreted in urine
• Creatine clearance


  Measure of the efficiency of the kidneys removing creatine from blood
• Electrolyte 


  Chemical element that carries an electrical charge when dissolved in water
• Erythropoietin (EPO)


  Hormone secreted by the kidney to stimulate the production of red blood cells by bone marrow.
• Filtration 


  Process whereby some substances, but not all, pass through a filter.
• Glomerular capsule


  Enclosing structure surrounding each glomerulus. known as Bowman’s capsule
• Glomerulus (glomeruli)


  Tiny balls of capillaries (microscopic blood vessels) in the kidney.
• Hilum


  Depression of an organ where blood vessels and nerves enter and leave.
• Kidney


  Bean-shaped organs on either side of the backbone in the lumbar region; filters nitrogenous wastes from bloodstream to form urine
• Meatus


  Opening or canal
• Medulla


  Inner region of an organ
• Nephron


  Combination of a glomerulus and a renal tubule where filtration, reabsorption, and secretion take place in kidney
• Nitrogenous wastes 


  Substance containing nitrogen and excreted in urine
• Potassium (K+)


  Electrolyte regulated by the kidney so that a proper concentration is maintained in the blood.
• Reabsorption


  Process whereby renal tubules return materials necessary to the body back into the bloodstream.
• Renal artery


  Blood vessel that carries blood to kidney
• Renal pelvis


  Central collecting region in the kidney
• Renal tubule


  Microscopic tube in the kidney where urine is formed after filtration.
• Renal vein


  Blood vessel that carries blood away from the kidney and toward the heart.
• Renin


  Hormone secreted by the kidney; it raises blood pressure by influencing vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels)
• Sodium (Na+)


  Electrolyte regulated in the blood and urine by the kidneys; needed for proper transmission of the nerve impulses, heart actin activity, and other metabolic functions.
• Trigone


  Triangular area in the urinary bladder
• Urea


  Major nitrogenous water excreted in urine
• Uterer


  One of the two tubes leading from the kidneys to the urinary bladder
• Urethra


  Tube leading from the urinary bladder to the outside of the body
• uric acid


  Nitrogenous waste excreted in the urine
• Urinary bladder

  Hollow, muscular sac that holds and stores urine
• Urination (voiding)


  Process of expelling urine; also called micturtion
• Cali/o Cali/o

  Calyx; cup shaped
• Cyst/o

  urinary bladder
• Glomerul/o

  Glomerulus
• Meat/o

  Meatus
• Nephr/o


  Kidney
• Pyel/o


  Renal pelvis