urine

Introduction

Aqueous fluid filtered from the blood & processed in the kidney, stored in the urinary bladder & eliminated throught the urethra.

Also see urinalysis

Uses

• as a mordant to help prepare textiles, especially wool, for dyeing
• manufacture of gunpowder
• agricultural fertlizer
• survival:
  • the US Army Field Manual recommends against drinking urine for survival even when there is no other fluid available
  • drinking urine tends to worsen, rather than relieve dehydration due to the salts in it

Function

• elimination of soluble waste products of metabolism
• regulation plasma electrolytes
• regulation of plasma osmolality
• elimination of excess body fluid

Physiology

• urine is formed in the kidneys through a process of glomerular filtration with subsequent resorption & secretion in the renal tubules

More general terms

• extracellular compartment (extracellular space)
• body fluid
• waste product

Additional terms

• oliguria
• polyuria
• urinalysis (UA)
• urinary tract
• urine chemistry test
• urine culture
• urine toxicology
• urologic disease