Transport of Urine from the Kidney Through the Ureters and into the Bladder

Transport of Urine from the Kidney Through the Ureters and into the Bladder

Urine that is expelled from the bladder has essentially the same composition as fluid flowing out of the collecting ducts; there are no significant changes in the composition of urine as it flows through the renal calyces and ureters to the bladder.

Urine flowing from the collecting ducts into the renal calyces stretches the calyces and increases their inherent pacemaker activity, which in turn initiates peristaltic contractions that spread to the renal pelvis and then downward along the length of the ureter, thereby forcing urine from the renal pelvis toward the bladder. The walls of the ureters contain smooth muscle and are innervated by both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves as well as by an intramural plexus of neurons and nerve fibers that extends along the entire length of the ureters. As with other visceral smooth muscle, peristaltic contractions in the ureter areenhanced by parasympathetic stimulation and inhibited by sympathetic stimulation.

The ureters enter the bladder through the detrusormuscle in the trigone region of the bladder, as shownin Figure 26–6. Normally, the ureters course obliquely for several centimeters through the bladder wall. The normal tone of the detrusor muscle in the bladder wall tends to compress the ureter, thereby preventing back-flow of urine from the bladder when pressure builds up in the bladder during micturition or bladder compression. Each peristaltic wave along the ureter increases the pressure within the ureter so that the region passing through the bladder wall opens and allows urine to flow into the bladder.

In some people, the distance that the ureter courses through the bladder wall is less than normal, so that contraction of the bladder during micturition does not always lead to complete occlusion of the ureter. As a result, some of the urine in the bladder is propelled backward into the ureter, a condition called vesi-coureteral reflux. Such reflux can lead to enlargementof the ureters and, if severe, can increase the pressure in the renal calyces and structures of the renal medulla, causing damage to these regions.

Pain Sensation in the Ureters, and the Ureterorenal Reflex.The ureters are well supplied with pain nerve fibers. When a ureter becomes blocked (e.g., by a ureteral stone), intense reflex constriction occurs, associated with severe pain. Also, the pain impulses cause a sym-pathetic reflex back to the kidney to constrict the renal arterioles, thereby decreasing urine output from the kidney. This effect is called the ureterorenal reflex and is important for preventing excessive flow of fluid into the pelvis of a kidney with a blocked ureter.