Urinating is a normal bodily function, but where exactly does pee come from? The answer lies in the bodily system in charge of it: the urinary system.
How the Urinary System Produces Pee
The urinary system, or urinary tract, serves as the filtration system of the body that gets rid of waste.
Part of the urinary system is the kidneys, which are key players. They are in charge of two primary jobs, which are to filter waste from the bloodstream and to produce pee. If the kidneys do not do their jobs, toxins end up building up inside the body and causing illness. This is why some people may require kidney transplants. For one to be healthy, it is important to have one working kidney.
When the pee exits the kidneys, it travels through the ureters until it gets stored inside the bladder. Urine gets stored inside the bladder until one goes to the comfort room. As the bladder gets filled, it expands. When it becomes full, its nerve endings relay a pee alert to the brain.
When one reaches the restroom and is ready to pee, the walls of the bladder contract. The sphincter, which is a ringlike muscle that guards the bladder-urethra exit, also relaxes. Pee flows out of the body through the urethra, which is tube-like in structure.
What Is Pee?
That being said, when blood enters the kidneys, water and other things within the blood return to the bloodstream. Waste, on the other hand, gets taken out. Urine is the remnant of this.
Urine contains urea, water, pigmented blood product urochrome, bile byproducts, ammonia, and creatinine.
In cases when urine samples are required, urinalysis results reveal the overall functioning of the kidneys. The presence of white blood cells in pee, for instance, could signify an infection.
Pee also indicates the water levels in the body. When one drinks a lot, pee tends to come in larger amounts and in a pale yellow color. In such cases, the water present in the pee is more than usual and the body is trying to expel excess water.
Signs of Urinary Tract Conditions
While the urinary tract typically functions to produce pee, there may be cases where it gets affected. There are certain signs and symptoms that may signify that a urinary tract condition is present.
For one, pee changes could be an indicator. This includes frequency and possible pain when peeing. Color, cloudiness, or blood content could also be possible indicators.
A urinary tract condition may also lead to pain in the abdomen, since this is where the urinary organs are. More people with such conditions experience pressure, tenderness, or pain in this particular area.
Muscle aches, fever, nausea, vomiting, and feeling generally unwell could also indicate an infection.
RELATED ARTICLE: Urinary Tract Infections (UTI): Causes, Symptoms, And Treatment
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