To comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, this article may need to be rewritten. Reason: Lack of structure, references, formality and data Please help improve this article. The discussion page may contain suggestions.

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Medicine or the Medicine Portal may be able to help recruit one. If a more appropriate WikiProject or portal exists, please adjust this template accordingly.(March 2008)

Look up urine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Urine is an aqueous solution of waste electrolytes and metabolites excreted by mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians. Although urine is excreted as a paste(uric acid) by most birds, it is commonly excreted as a fluid varying in colour from clear, when dilute, to a dark amber, when concentrated. Urine is produced by the kidneys, and plays a vital role in maintaining homeostasis by removing excess water, electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, potassium, and calcium ions, urea and other metabolites from the blood. Urine excreted by healthy kidneys is sterile. The production of urine is called diuresis. Urine is liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood and excreted through the urethra. ... Uren (Russian: ) is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Usta River (Volgas basin), 183 km northeast of Nizhny Novgorod. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria For the folk-rock band see The Mammals. ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ... Reptilia redirects here. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... The kidneys are the organs that filter wastes (such as urea) from the blood and excrete them, along with water, as urine. ... Homeostasis (from Greek: ὅμος, homos, equal; and ιστημι, histemi, to stand lit. ... For sodium in the diet, see Salt. ... The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion (negatively-charged ion) Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. ... General Name, symbol, number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ... For other uses, see Calcium (disambiguation). ... Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula (NH2)2CO. Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... Sterility is the quality or state of being unable to reproduce. ... Diuresis is the production of urine by the kidney. ...

Composition

Water

The main constituent of urine is water. All vertebrates must carefully maintain the volume of fluid in their extra-cellular space in order to prevent fluid overload or dehydration. Some water is inevitably lost during solute excretion, and represents an unavoidable fluid loss. However, the majority of water excreted in the urine is lost to prevent fluid overload. Different animals have different renal physiologies depending on their need to retain water. Freshwater fish, for example, produce very large amounts of very dilute urine, whereas desert-dwelling animals such as the meerkat have evolved very effective renal systems, allowing them to conserve water by producing small amounts of extremely concentrated urine. Human kidneys are not that effective - even the most concentrated human urine is relatively dilute. The excretion of water is called aquaresis. Water intoxication (also known as hyperhydration or water poisoning) is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain function that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits, ironically by that which makes up the majority of it - common water. ... Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ... Fresh water redirects here. ... Binomial name (Schreber, 1776) Meerkat range The meerkat or suricate Suricata suricatta is a small mammal and a member of the mongoose family. ... Urine is liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood and excreted through the urethra. ...

Electrolytes

Along with volume regulation, urine regulates the osmolarity of an animal's internal space. The concentration of ions in the blood and extra-cellular fluid must stay within a fairly tight range in order to maintain health, and avoid dehydration. Although some ions are lost to normal bodily function (such as sweating), most animals have a large surplus of ions in their diets and must excrete them. Most humans, for example, ingest many more sodium and chloride ions than they need in the form of [salt] - it is secretion of these surplus ions which makes urine taste salty. Osmolality, in biology and chemistry, is a measure of moles of solute per kg of water. ... For sodium in the diet, see Salt. ... The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion (negatively-charged ion) Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. ...

Nitrogen

Urine production and excretion is a vertebrate's primary method for removal of nitrogen. This is a waste product, produced in the form of ammonia by the liver. Excess nitrogen is found in the diet, and released into the blood during the deamination of amino acids in protein metabolism. In fish, where water conservation is not an issue, ammonia is excreted in dilute urine. However, at higher concentrations it is toxic, and so in mammals' urine, this mainly is in the form of urea, produced from ammonia in the liver. Birds generally excrete uric acid as a paste, to further conserve water. General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... Deamination is the removal of an amine group from a molecule. ... In chemistry, an amino acid is any molecule that contains both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. ... Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula (NH2)2CO. Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body, and is an organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. ... Uric acid (or urate) is an organic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. ...

Acid

The kidneys play a vital role in regulating body pH, preventing acidosis or alkalosis by excreting excess hydrogen ions or bicarbonate ions as required. When it leaves the body, urine is usually around pH 6, though it may be as low as 4.5 or as high as 8.2. As urea—the compound which accounts for 75–90% of the nitrogen in urine—begins to decay, hydroxide ions form, raising the pH as high as 9–9.3. For acidosis referring to acidity of the urine, see renal tubular acidosis. ... Alkalosis refers to a condition reducing hydrogen ion concentration of arterial blood plasma. ... For other uses, see PH (disambiguation). ... Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula (NH2)2CO. Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... Hydroxide is a polyatomic ion consisting of oxygen and hydrogen: OH− It has a charge of −1. ...

The decay of urea into carbon dioxide is catalyzed by urease: Helicobacter Pylori Urease drawn from PDB 1E9Z. Urease (EC 3. ...

(NH₂)₂CO + H₂O → CO₂ + 2NH₃ Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula (NH2)2CO. Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... Carbon dioxide (chemical formula: ) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... For other uses, see Ammonia (disambiguation). ...

Metabolites

Animals ingest a wide variety of compounds daily. Not least are humans, who consume an incredible array of natural and artificial chemicals in the form of food, drink and pharmaceutical products. With the exception of vitamins, minerals and other micro-nutrients such as essential fatty acids, none of these are needed or desirable within the body. All are either metabolised by the liver, excreted in bile or filtered from the blood by the kidneys, and excreted in urine. Retinol (Vitamin A) Vitamins are nutrients required in very small amounts for essential metabolic reactions in the body [1]. The term vitamin does not encompass other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Essential fatty acids are fatty acids that are required in the human diet. ...

Dissolved heavy metals

Studies of urine in organic cattle farms in Sweden in 1999 and 2002 yielded the following concentrations of heavy metals (all in μg/kg wet weight):^[1]

• Copper: 67
• Zinc: 30
• Chromium: 5
• Lead: 1
• Cadmium: 0

For other uses, see Copper (disambiguation). ... General Name, symbol, number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... REDIRECT [[ Insert text]]EWWWWWWWWWWWWW YO General Name, symbol, number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 51. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series Post-transition metals or poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cadmium, Cd, 48 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 5, d Appearance silvery gray metallic Standard atomic weight 112. ...

Glucose

Glucose is constantly lost from the blood into the filtrate at the kidneys - however, active reuptake in the proximal tubule usually prevents any being excreted. This is desirable, as glucose is a valuable source of energy, not a waste product. However, in hyperglycaemia - most commonly arising from diabetes mellitus in humans - the tubular limit on glucose reabsorbtion may be breached, in which case some glucose with be lost in the urine. In the biology of the kidney, the proximal convoluted tubule is the segment of the renal tubule that drains Bowmans capsule. ... Hyperglycemia or High Blood Sugar is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. ... For the disease characterized by excretion of large amounts of very dilute urine, see diabetes insipidus. ...

Bacteria

Urine excreted by healthy kidneys is sterile. When it leaves the body, however, the urine can pick up bacteria from the surrounding skin, which would contaminate it. Sterility is the quality or state of being unable to reproduce. ...

Characteristics

Main article: Human urine

Urine is liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood and excreted through the urethra. ...

Color

Urine is normally yellow because it contains urobilin. Urobilin is a yellow breakdown product of haem (heme in American English) catabolism. ...

Uses

Diagnostic tests

Main article: Urinalysis

Testing urine for its constituents is a cost-effective and non-invasive means of assessing the internal situation of an animal. It is commonly used to test for pregnancy, by measuring levels of hormones excreted. Urinalysis can also be used to test for the metabolites of illegal drugs, if substance abuse is suspected. It is also an invaluable first-line investigation in clinical medicine, where pH, glucose, protein, white blood cell, bacteria and blood content can all be tested to aid in making a diagnosis. A urinalysis (or UA) is an array of tests performed on urine and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis. ... White Blood Cells redirects here. ...

Fertilizer

Urine has been and is used extensively as fertilizer. Its high nitrogen content allows increased amino acid synthesis by plants. During WWII, Japanese farmers used urine collected in so-called "honeypots" as cheap fertilizer for their crops. Spreading manure, an organic fertilizer Fertilizers (also spelled fertilisers) are compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves. ...

Animal repellent

Taking advantage of the scents of male animals' urine, some companies sell animal urine, usually coyote or fox, to cities and other organizations to repel those animals by essentially "marking their territory". The scents of carnivore urine (bobcat, mountain lion, and wolf, in addition to coyote and fox) are also sold to the public in pelletized form to repel garden browsing by herbivores such as squirrels and rabbits, as well as deterring domestic or feral cats from marking territory, or catching birds, in gardens. When the pellets are sprinkled on a target area, the intruding animal will instinctively recognize the territorial urinary scent of its predators and avoid the area. For other uses, see Bobcat (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) The puma (Puma concolor) is a type of large cat found in North, Central and South America. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... For other uses, see Garden (disambiguation). ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ... Genera Several, see text Squirrel is the common name for rodents of the family Sciuridae. ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, found in many parts of the world. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ...

Munitions

In historical times, urine was collected and used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Stale urine was filtered through a barrel full of straw and allowed to continue to sour for a year or more. After this period of time, water was used to wash the resulting chemical salts from the straw. This slurry was filtered through wood ashes and allowed to dry in the sun. Saltpeter crystals were then collected and added to sulfur and charcoal to create black powder.[1][2] A modern black powder substitute for muzzleloading rifles in FFG size Gunpowder (also called black powder) is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre or saltpeter) that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as... For other meanings of the word salt see table salt or salt (disambiguation). ... R-phrases   S-phrases   Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... Black powder was the original gunpowder and practically the only known propellant and explosive until the middle of the 19th century. ...

Textiles

Urine has often been used as a mordant to help prepare textiles, especially wool, for dyeing. Urine was used for dyes such as indigo where the urea in the urine reacted with the insoluble dye to form a soluble solution. Look up Mordant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Indigo is the color on the spectrum between about 450 and 420 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet. ...

Hormone replacement therapy

Steroid hormones extracted from the urine of pregnant mares^{[citation needed]} are used in a drug sold under the trade name Premarin (a neologism derrived from 'pregnant mare urine'). The drug, manufactured and sold by Wyeth, is an estrogen replacement therapy used in the treatment of menopause symptoms. 13 year old Peruvian Paso mare A broodmare and foal In English, a mare (an old Germanic word) is a female horse; the word is also an etymological root of marshal (originally marescalcus horse servant). Mares are considered easier to handle than males, which are called stallions or after castration... Premarin is a mixture of estrogens isolated from mares urine (PREgnant MARes urINe) made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. ... A neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created (or coined), often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older terminology sound more contemporary. ... Wyeth, formerly known as American Home Products, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. ... The word menopause literally means the permanent physiological, or natural, cessation of menstrual cycles, from the Greek roots meno (month) and pausis (a pause, a cessation). ...

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

See also

• Kidneys
• Human urine
• Renal physiology
• Diuresis
• Diuretics

Kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... Urine is liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood and excreted through the urethra. ... This illustration demonstrates the normal kidney physiology. ... Diuresis is the production of urine by the kidney. ... A diuretic is any drug that tends to increase the flow of urine from the body (diuresis). ... The urinary system is the organ system that produces, stores, and eliminates urine. ... Human Physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. ... This illustration demonstrates the normal kidney physiology. ... Acid-base physiology is the study of the acids, bases and their reactions in the body. ... This article is about operation of solid-fluid separation. ... In the physiology of the kidney, renal blood flow (RBF) is the volume of blood delivered to the kidney per unit time. ... In biological terms, Ultrafiltration occurs at the barrier between the blood and the filtrate in the renal corpuscle or Bowmans capsule in the kidneys. ... Countercurrent exchange is a mechanism used to transfer some component of a fluid from one flowing current of fluid to another across a permeable barrier between them. ... RNA expression pattern Orthologs Human Mouse Entrez Ensembl Uniprot Refseq Location Pubmed search Arginine vasopressin (AVP), also known as vasopressin, argipressin or antidiuretic hormone (ADH), is a hormone found in most mammals, including humans. ... Aldosterone, is a steroid hormone (mineralocorticoid family) produced by the outer-section (zona glomerulosa) of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland, and acts on the kidney nephron to conserve sodium, secrete potassium,increase water retention, and increase blood pressure. ... Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) or atriopeptin, is a polypeptide hormone involved in the homeostatic control of body water and sodium. ... In medicine, the clearance, also renal clearance or renal plasma clearance (when referring to the function of the kidney), of a substance is the inverse of the time constant that describes its removal rate from the body divided by its volume of distribution (or total body water). ... Pharmacokinetics (in Greek: pharmacon meaning drug, and kinetikos meaning putting in motion) is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to the determination of the fate of substances administered externally to a living organism. ... The endocrine system is a control system of ductless endocrine glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones that circulate within the body via the bloodstream to affect distant organs. ... Not to be confused with rennin, the active enzyme in rennet. ... Erythropoietin (IPA pronunciation: , alternative pronunciations: ) or EPO is a glycoprotein hormone that is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow. ... Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that contributes to the maintenance of normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the bloodstream. ... E1 - Alprostadil I2 - Prostacyclin A prostaglandin is any member of a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in the animal body. ... In medicine (nephrology) renal function is an indication of the state of the kidney and its role in physiology. ... In nephrology, dialysis adequacy is the measurement of renal dialysis for the purpose of determining dialysis treatment regime and to better understand the pathophysiology of renal dialysis. ... Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the volume of fluid filtered from the renal (kidney) glomerular capillaries into the Bowmans capsule per unit time. ... Creatinine clearance is a method that estimates the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of the kidneys. ... The renal clearance ratio is found with the following equation: X is the analyte substance Cx is the renal plasma clearance of X Cin is the renal plasma clearance of inulin. ... For the Scottish river see: Urr Water The urea reduction ratio (URR), is a dimensionless number used to quantify hemodialysis treatment adequacy. ... In medicine, Kt/V is a number used to quantify hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatment adequacy. ... Standardized Kt/V, also std Kt/V, is a way of measuring (renal) dialysis adequacy. ... Hemodialysis product (HDP) - is a number used to quantify hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatment adequacy. ... Acid-base physiology is the study of the acids, bases and their reactions in the body. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A Darrow Yannet diagram is a schematic used in physiology to identify how the volumes of extracellular fluid and intracellular fluid alter in response to conditions such as adrenal insufficiency and SIADH. It was developed in 1935. ... A significant fraction of the human body is water. ... Interstitial fluid (or tissue fluid, or intercellular fluid) is a solution which bathes and surrounds the cells of multicellular animals. ... In some animals, including mammals, the two types of extracellular fluids are interstitial fluid and blood plasma. ... The cytosol (cf. ... Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. ... Transcellular fluid is the portion of total body water contained within epithelial lined spaces. ... In human physiology, the base excess (see: base) excess refers to the amount of acid required to return the blood pH of an individual to the normal value. ... In acid base physiology, the Davenport Diagram is a graphical tool, developed by Horace Davenport, that allows a clinician or investigator to describe blood bicarbonate concentrations and blood pH following a respiratory and/or metabolic acid-base disturbance. ... The anion gap is used to aid in the differential diagnosis of metabolic acidosis. ... Arterial blood gas measurement is a blood test that is performed to determine the concentration of oxygen, carbon dioxide and bicarbonate, as well as the pH, in the blood. ... The Bicarbonate buffering system is the most important buffer for mantaining a relatively constant pH in the plasma. ... Respiratory compensation is a mechanism by which plasma pH can be altered by varying the respiratory rate. ... Renal compensation is a mechanism by which the kidneys can regulate the plasma pH. It is slower than respiratory compensation, but has a greater ability to restore normal values. ...