Genitourinary system
organ system of the reproductive organs and the urinary system
The genitourinary system, or urogenital system, consists of the reproductive system and urinary system. These are grouped together in placental mammals because of their proximity to each other, their common embryological origin and the use of common pathways. Because of this, the systems are sometimes imaged together.
The term "apparatus urogenitalis" was used in Nomina Anatomica (under splanchnologia) but is not used in the current Terminologia Anatomica.
Development
The urinary and reproductive organs are developed from the intermediate mesoderm. The permanent organs of the adult are preceded by a set of structures that are purely embryonic and that, with the exception of the ducts, disappear almost entirely before the end of fetal life. These embryonic structures are on either side: the pronephros, the mesonephros and the metanephros of the kidney, and the Wolffian and Müllerian ducts of the sex organ. The pronephros disappears very early; the structural elements of the mesonephros mostly degenerate, but the gonad is developed in their place, with which the Wolffian duct remains as the duct in males, and the Müllerian as that of the female. Some of the tubules of the mesonephros form part of the permanent kidney.
Structures
Urethra
Female Urethra
The urethra of an adult human female is 3-4 cm long.
The public source identifies “Genitourinary system” as organ system of the reproductive organs and the urinary system. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Genitourinary, system and organ.
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This entry incorporates text from “Genitourinary system” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.