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The urinary and genital systems closely interrelated both structurally and developmentally.
URINARY SYSTEM
1. For Excretion process of ridding the body with waste resulting from metabolism (mainly
nitrogenous wastes).
Ammonotelic
Ureotelic
Uricotelic
Which of the three nitrogenous wastes is produced with the least energy cost? The most toxic?
And the most soluble?
2. For Osmoregulation maintenance of a ratio between the quantity of salt and water in
the body fluids such that the organism can survive in its natural habitat (water or land).
2. Essential functions:
a. removal of nitrogenous waste products of protein metabolism and many other harmful
substances.
Tetrapod kidneysregulate water and salts, plus function in the elimination of nitrogenous
waste.
Vertebrate kidneys consist of glomeruli, renal tubules surrounded by peritubular capillaries, &
longitudinal excretory ducts. Variations in kidney structure among vertebrates are primarily in the
number & arrangement of the glomeruli & complexity of the tubules.
Glomeruli are masses of capillaries that (along with Bowman's capsule) 'filter' the blood the first
step in eliminating waste products from the blood.
Kidney tubules collect the glomerular filtrate & conduct it to a longitudinal duct. Tubules
consist of several segments & begin as a Bowmans (or glomerular) capsule.
Glomerulus + BC = Renal Corpuscle
Longitudinal ducts = begin developing at anterior end of kidney & grow caudally until
opening into the cloaca
Review and Study the basic anatomy of the kidney and the nephrons: Make sure to know the
function/s of each section/part/structure. Diagram of nephron shown below (may also refer to
book).
Glomerular filtration water, certain salts, glucose & other solutes; varying the size and
number, water can be excreted abundantly or sparingly
Tubular reabsorption* glucose, water, salts
* Varying the length of kidney tubules, either salt or water, can be recovered from filtrate or salt
excreted abundantly
Large renal corpuscle means more water in raw filtrate
Thick intermediate segments mean many cilia to drive filtrate through tubule, which
means less water will be reabsorbed
The most anterior kidney and the first to form in ALL VERTEBRATES.
Fewer nephrotomes - (e.g., 3 in frogs, 7 in human embryos, & 12 in chicken embryos)
The duct that drains the pronephros is called the pronephric duct.
The pronephros is temporary & function only until glomeruli & tubules further back
become functional.
Formed by corspuscles and tubules that develop caudad to pronephric region; form
connections with existing proneprhic duct (which is now called the mesonephric duct).
The embryonic kidney in REPTILES, BIRDS, and MAMMALS.
The functional adult kidney in FISH and AMPHIBIANS (sometimes called _____).
JAWED FISHES and AMPHIBIANS among males, some anterior tubules of mesonephros
conduct sperm from testis to mesonephric duct. That part of the mesonephros is called the
sexual kidney, while the rest is the uriniferous kidney.
the number of renal corpuscles is large; up to about 4.5 million in some species.
drained by a duct called the metanephric duct or ureter.
MAMMALIAN KIDNEY
Mammalian kidneys are divided into the CORTEX, MEDULLA, & PELVIS.
Cortex contains renal corpuscles & lots of capillaries.
Medulla contains collecting ducts and loops of Henle; divided into pyramids & columns.
Pelvis hollow; receives the urine (which exits the kidney via the ureter).
Tubules of mammalian kidney have U-shaped Loops of Henle (avian kidney = very short
loops & reptilian kidney = no loops).
Blood supply:
kidney is supplied by 2 or more renal arteries in reptiles & birds, & by a single renal
artery in mammals.
Pathway of blood in mammalian kidney: renal artery > segmental arteries > interlobar
arteries > arcuate arteries > interlobular arterioles.
Peritubular capillariessupplied with blood from efferent glomerular arterioles and the renal
portal system.
URINARY BLADDER
Provides temporary storage for urine, and EXCEPT in mammals, often modifies the
concentration and composition of urine.
Are found in all vertebrates except agnathans, snakes, crocodilians, some lizards, & birds
(except ostriches).
Why? Because they excrete a semisolid urine containing uric acid.
Fish bladders are terminal enlargements of the mesonephric ducts called TUBAL
BLADDERS.
USES OF URINE
reproduction (e.g., providing males with information concerning the reproductive status
of a female).
behavioral (e.g., marking territories).
moisten soil (some freshwater turtles use urine to soften the ground and make it easier
to dig holes for egg-laying).
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
produce gametes
synthesize steroidal hormones
sexual behavior
Gonads:
Ovaries are hollow sacs, either because the ovary develops around coelom or the ovary
becomes hollow at ovulation (eggs are discharged into cavity which is continuous with
the oviduct)
In some teleosts plus agnathans, the ovaries are compact & eggs are discharged into
coelom
Amphibian ovaries are hollow (folded thin-walled sacs) & eggs are discharged into the coelom
Reptiles, birds, & monotremes ovaries solid but develop irregular, fluid-filled lacunae (cavities);
eggs discharged into coelom
lungfish & amphibians oviducts long & convoluted; lining secretes jelly-like material
around each egg.
crocodilians, some lizards, & nearly all birds 1 coiled oviduct lined with glands that add
albumen, shells, &, sometimes, pigment.
tract is reptilian; caudal end secretes a shell before egg passes into the cloaca
MARSUPIALS
PLACENTALS
placental mammals embryonic ducts give rise to oviducts, uteri, & vaginas. Adult tract
is paired anteriorly & unpaired posteriorly (typically terminating as an unpaired vagina).
TYPES OF UTERI
What are the different types? How are they different from each other? Examples?
FISH TESTES
MAMMALIAN TESTES
Spermatic ducts empty into cloaca except in therian mammals (into urethra)
multicellular glands secretions for seminal fluid in amniotes
testes descend permanently into scrotal sacs (= labia majora) in many mammals
(ungulates, carnivores, primates)
inguinal canal passage between abdominal cavity & scrotum
some mammals testes lowered into scrotal sacs & retracted at will (rabbits, bats, few
rodents). What are Cremaster muscles? Spermatic cord? Importance of scrotal sacs?
snakes and lizards hemipenes protrusible saclike diverticula under the skin at the
entrance to the cloaca
Formed from the genital tubercle located anterior to the cloacal opening.
The tubercle enlarges to become the penis.
May be hidden under the skin but usually partly external even when not erect.
Glans at the tip of penis is variously shaped e.g. forked in monotremes and marsupials.
The penis may be stiffened by a bone called _________ (or os penis) as in carnivores,
bats, insectivores, rodents, and some primates.
turtles, crocodilians, a few birds, & mammals exhibit an unpaired erectile penis.
Make sure to know similarities and variations of the male and female reproductive tract of the
different vertebrates.
CLOACA review the anatomy of the cloaca of the different vertebrates
More information:
Pronephros Anterior portion of the nephogenic mesoderm. Pronephric tubules drain into
pronephric duct which opens into cloaca.
Mesonephros Nephrogenic mesoderm just posterior to pronephros. Once the pronephric kidney
regresses, the pronephric duct becomes the mesonephric duct. A mesonephros forms the adult
kidney in fishes and amphibians; it is the functional embryonic kidney of amniotes.
Opisthonephrosthe kidneys of fishes and amphibians sometimes called this because kidney
tubules develop as far back as the cloaca.
Metanephros adult kidney of amniotes, formed from the posterior part of the nephrogenic
mesodermm whic becomes displaced anteriorly and laterally during development
Mammalian kidneys
Renal pelvis with extensions (calyces) responsible for collecting urine from
common collecting tubules
Cortexhousing the glomerulim convuluted tubules, and the upper ends of the
loops of Henle.
URINARY BLADDERS
present in amphibians, turtles, lizards, monotremes, ratite birds also have a bladderbut
the ureter opens up into cloaca
GENITAL ORGANS
Produce gametes
Synthesize steroidal hormonesfor differentiation, growth, and maintenance of
accessory sex organs (reproductive ducts and their glands), secondary sex
characteristics, and sexual behavior.
In males, primary sex cords become seminiferous tubules that produce sperm
In females, primary sex cords regress, new secondary sex cords form and are the source
of oocytes.
Bidders Organfound in anurans, but usually disappears during development; from the
anterior part of the testis; persists in toads, This organ contains undifferentiated tissue
resembling immature ova.
In all vertebrates, eggs are released into the coelom or a compartment of it before being
swept into an oviduct.
Sperm are conducted in a closed system of vessels without ever entering the coelom.
References:
From comparative anatomy textbooks listed in the syllabus and from the internet.
Pictures and/or plates and figures from the internet or scanned from the comparative anatomy textbooks.