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Anatomy of the urinary organs of the pelvis

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Notes

Urinary Organs of the Pelvis

Figure 1. Blood supply and innervation of the urinary organs. Anterior views of a A. biologically male and B. biologically female pelvis.
Figure 2.  Blood supply and lymphatic drainage of the bladder and pelvic ureters. Anterolateral view of a A. biologically male and B. biologically female pelvis.
Figure 3. Urinary organs and peritoneal reflections in the pelvis. Sagittal view of the A. biologically male and B. biologically female pelvis.
Figure 4. Anterolateral view of the bladder and the lateral ligaments of the bladder in A. a biological male and B. a biological female.
Figure 5.  Anterior view of coronal section of the bladder and urethra in A. biological males (and close-up of the prostatic urethra) and B. biological females.
Figure 6. A. Anterolateral view of a biologically male pelvis showing fossae formed by the folds/reflections of the parietal peritoneum. B. Midsagittal view of a biologically male pelvis showing the pelvic pain line.
Figure 7. A. Anterior view of the sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation of the urinary organs. B. Anterolateral view of the pudendal nerve. C Sagittal view of a biologically male pelvis and the autonomic innervation.

Unlabelled diagrams

Transcript

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Content Reviewers

Viviana Popa, MD

Urine good hands here at Osmosis, because we care about each other and our learners! Bad puns aside, urine is an important way for us to eliminate waste and it takes quite the journey from the kidneys to the outside world! Let’s look at the path of urine after it leaves the kidneys, and the structures it passes through along its journey.

After exiting the kidney, urine travels through 3 main structures before leaving the body; the ureters, the urinary bladder and the urethra.

Let’s start with the ureters, which are paired muscular tubes sitting retroperitoneally that transport urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. The ureters are roughly 30 centimeters long, and have two parts; an upper abdominal part and a lower pelvic part.

The abdominal part starts at the kidneys, and descends in the abdomen posterior to the peritoneum to reach the pelvic brim. Here, the ureters cross near the bifurcation of the common iliac arteries - where the external and internal iliac arteries begin - and are now referred to as the pelvic ureters.

The pelvic ureters run on the lateral walls of the pelvis reaching the ischial spines. Then, each pelvic ureter passes anteromedially to enter the posterior wall of the urinary bladder. Now, the ureter is surrounded by many structures that differ between biologically male individuals and biologically female individuals.

In males, the ureters enter the posterior wall of the bladder superior to the seminal vesicles, which are paired glands that secrete parts of the seminal fluid. Also, the ureters run posterior to the ductus deferens, which are paired tubes that carry sperm from the scrotum to the pelvic cavity.

The ductus deferens emerges from the inguinal canal and travels to the posterolateral angle of the bladder, where it passes superior to the ureter. In females, the ureters pass medial to the origin of the uterine artery. Then, at the level of the ischial spine, the uterine artery crosses the ureter. Finally, the ureters run near the lateral part of the upper vagina and enter the bladder.

Sources

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  5. "Manual Of Obstretics, 3/e" Elsevier India (2011)
  6. "The adult human pubic symphysis: a systematic review" Journal of Anatomy (2010)
  7. "Hole's Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology 10th Edition" McGraw-Hill Science (2008)