Dr.

Aklilu A. (DVM)

INTRODUCTION
 The organs of the urinary system are closely related to the reproductive organs in terms of
embryonic development and anatomic topography. In addition, they share common terminal
segments, located in the pelvic cavity. Therefore, the two systems are often described under
one heading, the urogenital system.
 The organs of the urinary system include the kidneys (renes), ureters, bladder and urethra.
 The paired kidneys produce urine from the circulatory system by filtration, secretion,
reabsorption and concentration. The ureters convey the urine from the kidneys to the bladder,
where it is stored until it is discharged through the urethra.
KIDNEY (NEPHROS, REN)
 The kidneys are paired structures lying retroperitoneally pressed against the dorsal abdominal
wall on either side of the vertebral column.
 They are predominantly located in the lumbar region, but extend cranially under the last ribs
into the intrathoracic part of the abdomen. Their position changes by half the length of a
vertebra, with the movement of the diaphragm.
 In domestic mammals, other than the pig, the right kidney is located further cranial than the
left and its cranial extremity lies in contact with the caudate process of the liver and the right
hepatic lobe. It lies in a fossa of the liver (impressio renalis), which helps to limit its
movement. The left kidney is more mobile, as an equivalent impression is not present in the
liver.
 In ruminants, the considerable size of the rumen pushes the left kidney towards the right half
of the abdomen, where it is suspended by the long and mobile mesonephros caudal to the
right kidney.
 Each kidney is embedded in fat, which protects against distorting pressure from the adjacent
organs.
Shape of the kidneys
 The kidneys are reddish-brown organs, the shape of which varies considerably among the
domestic mammals.
 The basic form is bean-shaped as found in the dog, cat, sheep and goat.

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 Dr.
Aklilu A. (DVM)

 The kidneys of the pig are more flattened, the right kidney of the horse has a valentine heart
shape, while the left has a bean to pyramidal shape.
 The bovine kidney has an irregular oval shape and its surface is fissured to divide the organ
into many lobes.
 The kidneys of the other domestic mammals have a smooth surface.
 A complete separation of the different renal lobes is found in certain marine species, whose
kidneys resemble a bunch of grapes.
 The kidney can be described in terms of its dorsal and ventral surfaces, lateral and medial
borders and cranial and caudal extremities or poles.
 The medial border of the kidney is indented to form the renal hilus (hilus renalis), through
which the dilated origin of the ureter, the renal pelvis (pelvis renalis) exits and the renal
vessels and nerves enter the kidney.

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 Dr.
Aklilu A. (DVM)

Structure of the kidney

 The renal parenchyma is enclosed within a tough fibrous capsule, which passes inward at the
medial aspect of the kidney to line the walls of the renal sinus.
 This capsule can be easily removed from a healthy kidney during post-mortem examination,
but adheres after the tissue is scarred by disease.
 The parenchyma of the kidney is visibly divided into:
1. Renal cortex
2. Renal medulla (medulla renis),
1. The renal cortex is reddish-brown in colour and has a finely granular appearance.
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 Dr.
Aklilu A. (DVM)

 The cortex is delineated into cortical lobules, by radial lines, which identify the path of the
radiate arteries.
2. The renal medulla consists of a dark outer zone and a paler inner zone, which is radially
striated and extends to the renal sinus.
 During embryonic development, all mammalians pass through a stage, where the kidneys
have a multilobular structure, although in most species the number of lobes is considerably
reduced by fusion of the separate lobes. The degree of fusion varies among species.
 In the ox and the pig, the medulla and its associated cortex are divided into pyramidal shaped
lobes. The apex of each lobe is directed towards the renal sinus and forms a papilla, which
fits into a cup-like expansion (calix) of the renal sinus or ureter. Kidneys that retain this
architecture are referred to as multilobar or multipyramidal. While the kidney of the pig has a
smooth surface, in the ox the multilobar organization of the kidney is revealed by the fissures
that penetrate the organ between the different lobes from the surface.
 In the dog, horse and sheep all the lobes fuse finally to form a single medullary mass with a
continuous cortical shell surrounding it. The fusion joins the papillae in a common renal crest
(crista renalis). Even in this unilobar type of kidney some evidence of its complex origin is
retained: in the dog and cat pseudo papillae project dorsal and ventral to the papillary crest,
separated by recesses of the renal pelvis (recessus pelvis). These recesses are divided into
two parts by the interlobar arteries and veins.
 The following types of kidney can be distinguished based on the degree of fusion:
1. Unilobar kidneys with a smooth surface and a single renal papilla: Cat, dog, horse, small
ruminants.
2. Multilobar kidneys with a smooth surface and multiple papillae: Pig.
3. Multilobar kidneys with a lobated surface and multiple papillae: Ox.

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 Dr.
Aklilu A. (DVM)

Blood supply
 More than 20% of the arterial blood, which is pumped from the left ventricle into the arteries pass
through the kidneys.
 There is significant variation in the exact vascular architecture between the different species
and a detailed description can be found in specialized literature. In order to understand the func-
tional mechanisms of the kidney knowledge of the basic principle of renal vascularisation is
necessary.
 Each kidney is supplied by a renal artery, a branch of the abdominal aorta. The renal artery
divides into several interlobar arteries at the hilus of the kidney. These follow the divisions
between the different renal lobes to the corticomedullary junction, where they branch into
arcuate arteries.

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Aklilu A. (DVM)

 The arcuate arteries curve over the bases of the medullary pyramids and give rise to the
interlobular arteries, which radiate into the cortex to supply the lobules.
Lymphatic’s
 The lymphatics are satellites to the blood vessels and terminate in the lumbar lymph nodes
(lymphonodi lumbales aortici). The lymph nodes of this series located closest to the kidneys are
the renal lymph nodes (lymphonodi renales).
Innervations

 The kidneys receive sympathetic and parasympathetic fibres from the solar plexus, which
reach the organ along the renal arteries. Sympathetic fibres form synapses in the celiac
ganglion (ganglion celiacum), in the cranial mesenteric ganglion (ganglion mesentericum
craniale), and in smaller ganglia of the renal plexus. The dorsal branch vagus contributes the
parasympathetic fibres.

RENAL PELVIS
 In the domestic mammals other than the ox, the proximal ureter begins with a common
expansion, the renal pelvis, into which all the papillary ducts open.
 The renal pelvis is located within the renal sinus, but is fused with the renal tissue around the
papillae only.
 In the dog and cat the renal pelvis can be assessed radiographically in contrast studies. In these
species the renal pelvis is moulded around the renal crest and extends ventrally and dorsally to
form the pelvic recesses, which are separated from each other by projections of renal tissue
(pseudopapillae). Neighboring recesses are also separated by the interlobar vessels.
 The renal pelvis of the pig has a number of short- stemmed calyces, which embrace an
equal number of renal papillae that protrude into the renal pelvis.
 There is no renal pelvis in the ox. Instead the papilla of each medullary lobe fit into a calyx
formed by the terminal branches of the ureter. These branches unite into two majorchannels,
which converge from both poles of the kidney to form a single ureter.
 The renal pelvis of the horse consists of a central cavity and two large recesses (recessus
terminales) that are directed towards the poles of the kidney. Most of the papillary ducts open
into the recesses. The mucosa of the renal pelvis produces a mucous secretion, which accounts

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Aklilu A. (DVM)

for the proteins normally present in the equine urine (physiological albuminuria).

URETER

 The ureter is a muscular tube, which passes caudally in the retroperitoneal space along the
dorsal body wall. It can be divided into an abdominal part and a pelvic part.

 On reaching the pelvic cavity, it turns medially to enter the broad uterine ligament in the
female and the mesoductus deferens in the male.

 The ureter ends by inserting into the dorsolateral surface of the urinary bladder within the
lateral ligament of the bladder.

 The ureter enters the bladder obliquely close to the neck and runs intramurally between the
muscular layer and the mucosa of the bladder for about 2cm before opening into the lumen of
the bladder by means of two slits (ostium ureteris).

 The length of the intramural course prevents reflux of urine into the ureter when the pressure
is raised within the bladder.

 In the horse the wall of the proximal portion of the ureter contains mucous producing glands
(glandulae uretericae). The arteries of the renal pelvis are derived from the renal artery

 The ureteral lymphatics drain into the lumbar lymph nodes situated along the aorta and
into the medial iliac lymph nodes.

 The ureter receives parasympathetic and sympathetic innervation.

URINARY BLADDER
 The urinary bladder is a hollow musculomembraneous organ that varies in form, size and
position depending on the amount of urine it contains.
 It is small and globular, when contracted and lies on the pubic bones. It extends into the
abdomen in carnivores, but is confined to the pelvic cavity in larger animals. During filling it
enlarges gradually and becomes pear-shaped.
 The bladder can be divided into a cranial vertex (vertex vesicae), an intermediate body
(corpus vesicae) and a caudal neck (cervix vesicae), which is continuous with the urethra.
 The bladder is supported by double layers of peritoneum, which reflect from the lateral and

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SAMARA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
 Dr.
Aklilu A. (DVM)

ventral surface of the bladder to the lateral walls of the pelvic cavity and the abdominal floor.
 These peritoneal reflections are the median ligament (ligamentum vesicae medianum) and
lateral ligaments (ligamenta vesicae laterales) of the bladder.
 In the foetus the median ligament contains the urachus, the stalk of the embryonic allantois and
the paired lateral ligaments convey the umbilical arteries to the umbilicus. The urachus and
umbilical arteries rupture at birth; the remnant of the urachus is visible as a scar on the
bladder vertex, while the umbilical arteries are transformed into the round ligaments, which are
found in the free edge of the lateral ligaments and are only partly recede.
 The urachus may persist in some individuals.
 Most of the surface of the bladder, except the caudal part of the neck of the bladder, is
covered with peritoneum, which continues as the ligaments of the bladder onto the body walls.

 The vertex and neck are surrounded by loops of muscle bundles, which do not form a
functional sphincter as formerly hypothesized.

 The bladder receives its main blood supply from the caudal vesical arteries, which are
branches of the vaginal or prostatic arteries. It is supplemented cranially by the reduced umbilical
arteries.
 The lymphatics of the bladder drain into the iliosacral lymph nodes.
 The urinary bladder receives sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation. Sympathetic
fibers arise from the hypogastric nerves, which radiate from the caudal mesenteric ganglion
into the pelvic plexus. Parasympathetic pelvic nerves are derived from the pudendal nerve,
the ventral branch of the third sacral segment, and radiate in to the pelvic plexus.
 Parasympathetic fibers supply somatic innervation to the bladder muscle, sensory nerves are
also routed through the pudendal nerve.
URETHRA
 In the female animal the urethra exclusively serves to convey urine, while in the male animal it
carries urine, semen and seminal secretions.
 The female urethra extends caudally on the pelvic floor ventral to the reproductive tract. It
passes obliquely through the wall of the vagina and opens with the external urethral opening
ventrally at the junction between vagina and vestibule.

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Aklilu A. (DVM)

 The length and diameter of the urethra varies considerably between the domestic mammals. It is
short and wide in the horse and comparatively long in the dog.
 The structure of the female urethra is continuous with that of the bladder.
 The male urethra extends from an internal opening at the bladder neck to an external opening
at the end of the penis. It is divisible into a:

1. Pelvic part (pars pelvina),

— Preprostatic portion (pars praeprostatica),
— Prostatic portion (pars prostatica) and
2. Penile part (pars penina). The pelvic part of the urethra begins at the internal opening at
the bladder neck. Its preprostatic portion extends from the internal opening to the
seminal hillock (colliculus seminalis), an oval enlargement of the urethral crest, which
protrudes into the lumen of the urethra. It is flanked by the slitlike openings of the
deferent ducts. The prostatic portion is joined by the deferent and vesicular ducts and
passes through the prostate gland. The penile portion of the urethra begins at the ischial
arch and is described with the penis in the following chapter.

 The urethral wall contains a venous plexus in its submucosa, which has erectile properties
that aid continence. The urethra is surrounded by the striated urethral muscle over most of
its length. Caudally the muscle fibres are present on the ventral and lateral surface.
Contraction of these muscle bundles closes the external opening of the urethra. Voluntary
control of the urethral muscle is provided by somatic fibres of the pudendal nerve, which also
contains sympathetic and parasympathetic fibres.

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