The Amazing Urinary System
Article provided by ICPA, Inc. | By Mackenzie McNamara, DC
Have you ever wondered where all the water you drink goes after it leaves your stomach? Or why you sometimes have to race to the bathroom after drinking a big glass of lemonade? Meet your Urinary System: one of the hardest-working cleanup crews in your AMAZING body! Your urinary system’s most important job is to help keep your body healthy by filtering your blood. This system has several parts: your kidneys (the filters), your ureters (connecting tubes), your bladder, and your urethra (another tube).
Your kidneys are two special organs, about the size of your fist. You have one on each side, deep in your body, near the lower parts of your spine. These two bean-shaped organs filter the blood and remove extra water, salts, and other tiny waste compounds your body doesn’t need anymore. Those waste products mix with water to make urine (pee), which travels through tiny tubes called ureters to your bladder, where it’s stored until you’re ready to use the bathroom. Then the urine travels through your ureter and out into the toilet.
Pretty AMAZING, right? But your kidneys do much more than just make pee! They help keep the perfect balance of water and minerals like sodium, potassium, and calcium in your body, so you don’t have too much or too little. They even help your body regulate your blood pressure.