The genitourinary system It is made up of the organs responsible for the production and elimination of urine as well as the organs of the reproductive system. Although they are two different systems, they are closely related in their final part so that the disorders of one of them directly affect the other.
Urinary system
The urinary system is an excretion system, its main function is to filter the blood to extract waste substances that will later be eliminated from the body in the form of urine.
The blood passes through narrow capillaries that come into contact with the nephron, a functional unit of the kidney formed by a series of microscopic tubes into which different substances from the blood pass, once there some are reabsorbed back into the blood and others they advance in this system of tubules located inside the kidney to originate urine.
Once produced, urine leaves the kidney and is drained through the ureters into the bladder, a structure where it remains stored until the moment it is eliminated outside during urination, for which it must pass through the urethra.
The urinary system is similar in men and women, however there are notable differences in its final part between both sexes. The female urethra is short and makes its way to the urinary meatus, an orifice located in the vulva, a structure located in the perineum, the lower part of the pelvis that is located between the thighs. The male urethra is much longer, since it is located inside the penis.
Genital system
The genital system's function is to allow the reproduction process to take place. It is a complex system that contains structures capable of secreting sex hormones, producing sex cells or gametes and also allowing the growth and development of a new being.
The female genital system It is made up of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina.
The ovaries produce the female sex hormones or estrogens, also inside are the eggs in an immature phase, after puberty each month during the menstrual cycle the maturation of one or more eggs is stimulated that will be released from the ovary so that reach the uterus passing through the fallopian tube in order to be fertilized, when this does not occur menstrual bleeding occurs after which a new cycle begins.
Another structure of the female genital system is the vagina. .
The male genital system It consists of the testes where both testosterone, the male sex hormone, as well as sperm, the epididymis, the vas deferens, the seminal vesicles and the prostate are produced. Semen on its way to the outside travels through the urethra, which makes this structure common to both systems in man.
Photos: iStock - posteriori / Eraxion
