Article
Article
Urine
Article By:
Straus, Reuben Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon.
Last reviewed:January 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.724100
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- Urine, published June 2014:Download PDF
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An aqueous solution of organic and inorganic substances—mostly waste products of metabolism—that collects in the kidneys and is removed from the body primarily through the urinary bladder and urinary tract. Urine is a liquid waste produced by the kidneys (see illustration). After urine production, tubular ureters convey the urine to either the urinary bladder or cloaca in vertebrates, where it is stored prior to discharge. In most mammals, the urethra is the duct through which urine is discharged from the urinary bladder to the outside. Overall, the kidneys maintain the internal milieu of the body by excreting liquid waste products of metabolism and adjusting the loss of water and electrolytes to keep body fluids relatively constant in amount and composition. See also: Metabolism; Urinary bladder; Urinary system; Urogenital system
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