How urine is made
- Your kidneys make urine by filtering wastes and extra water from your blood. The main waste, urea, is carried to the kidneys by the blood.
- Urine travels down two thin tubes, the ureters, to the bladder.
- The bladder stores urine until you're ready to go, swelling round when full and shrinking when empty. A healthy bladder can comfortably hold up to 16 ounces (2 cups) for 2 to 5 hours.
What can cause problems
- Kidney failure
- Urinary tract infections
- an enlarged prostate
- bladder control problems such as incontinence, overactive bladder or interstitial cystitis
- a blockage that keeps the bladder from emptying
Some conditions also put blood or protein in the urine.
What to do
If you have a urinary problem, see your health care provider. Urinalysis and other urine tests can help find the cause, and treatment depends on it.
Sources
Based on "Urine and Urination," MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, drawing on the NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from medlineplus.gov
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