Urine

A Doctor Examining Urine,  Trophime Bigot.[5]

In humans, soluble wastes are excreted primarily by the urinary system.[5][12]

1. Human urinary system: 2. Kidney, 3. Renal pelvis, 4.Ureter, 5. Urinary bladder, 6. Urethra. 
7. Adrenal gland
8. Renal artery and vein, 9. Inferior vena cava, 10. Abdominal aorta, 11. Common iliac artery and vein
12. Liver, 13. Large intestine, 14.Pelvis [10]

The urinary system is regulated by the endocrine system via hormones such as antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone, and parathyroid hormone.[10][11]

Urine is an aqueous solution of greater than 95% water, with the remaining constituents, in order of decreasing concentration:[5][13]

• urea 9.3 g/L
• chloride 1.87 g/L
• sodium 1.17 g/L
• potassium 0.750 g/L
• creatinine 0.670 g/L 
• and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic compounds.

It is a myth that holding your urine too long can make your bladder burst (provided you are healthy, have not just had surgery in your nether regions, and are without certain pre-existing medical conditions). 

There also isn't evidence that holding it for excessive lengths of time increases the risk of UTIs.[2][36][37]

A healthy adult bladder can hold up to 16 ounces of urine comfortably, according to the National Institutes of Health.[3]

Eating asparagus can cause a strong odor in urine. This may be caused by the body's breakdown of asparagusic acid, an organosulfur.[5][6][7] 

Particularly spicy foods can have a similar effect, as their compounds pass through the kidneys without being fully broken down before exiting the body.[4][5][8][9]

SciShow via YouTube

The Color of Urine & What it May or May Not Indicate:

• Severe dehydration can produce urine the color of amber.[14]

• Dark brown urine— particularly if accompanied by pale stools and yellow skin and eyes — may be a sign that the liver is malfunctioning.[14]

• Factors that can cause urinary blood (hematuria) include urinary tract infections, enlarged prostate, cancerous and noncancerous tumors, kidney cysts, long-distance running, and kidney or bladder stones.[14]

• Consuming beets can result in beeturia (pink/red urine containing betanin) for some 10–14% of the population.[5][15]

• Blackberries and rhubarb can also turn urine red or pink.[14]

• Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane), an antibiotic often used to treat tuberculosis, can turn urine red — as can phenazopyridine (Pyridium), a drug that numbs urinary tract discomfort, and laxatives containing senna.[14]

• Chronic lead or mercury poisoning can cause urine to turn red.[14]

• Medications that can turn urine orange include rifampin; the anti-inflammatory drug sulfasalazine (Azulfidine); phenazopyridine (Pyridium), a drug that numbs urinary tract discomfort; some laxatives; and certain chemotherapy drugs.[14]

• In some cases, orange urine can indicate a problem with your liver or bile duct, especially if you also have light-colored stools. Orange urine may also be caused by dehydration, which can concentrate your urine and make it much deeper in color.[14]

• Some brightly colored food dyes can cause green urine. Dyes used for some tests of kidney and bladder function can turn urine blue.[14]

• A number of medications produce blue or green urine, including amitriptyline, indomethacin (Indocin) and propofol (Diprivan).[14]

Green urine during long term
infusion of the sedative propofol[5]

• Familial hypercalcemia, a rare inherited disorder, is sometimes called blue diaper syndrome because children with the disorder have blue urine.[14]

• Green urine sometimes occurs during urinary tract infections caused by pseudomonas bacteria.[14]

• Eating large amounts of fava beans, rhubarb or aloe can cause dark brown urine.[14]

• A number of drugs can darken urine, including the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and primaquine, the antibiotics metronidazole and nitrofurantoin, laxatives containing cascara or senna, and methocarbamol — a muscle relaxant.[14]

• Some liver and kidney disorders can turn urine dark brown, as can some urinary tract infections.[14]

• Urinary tract infections and kidney stones can cause urine to appear cloudy or murky.[14]

The pH of urine can vary between 4.6 and 8, with neutral (7) being normal. 

• In persons with hyperuricosuria, acidic urine (low pH) can contribute to the formation of stones of uric acid in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder.[5][16]

• A diet high in citrus, vegetables, or dairy can increase urine pH (more basic).[5][17]

• Drugs that can decrease urine pH (more acidic) include ammonium chloride, chlorothiazide diuretics, and methenamine mandelate.[5][18][19]

***

• When diluted with water in specific ratios, urine can be applied directly to soil as a fertilizer.[5][23][24]

• The fertilization effect of urine has been found to be comparable to that of commercial fertilizers with an equivalent nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium rating.[5][25]

• General limitations to using urine as fertilizer depend mainly on the potential for buildup of excess nitrogen,[5][23] and inorganic salts such as sodium chloride, which are also part of the wastes excreted by the renal system.

• Urine can also be used safely as a source of complementary nitrogen in carbon-rich compost.[5][24]

• Since about 2011, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been providing research funding sanitation systems that recover the nutrients in urine.[5][26][27] 

***

• Some research has shown that more environmental problems are created when urine is treated (as part of sewage in waste water treatment plants) versus when it is used as a resource (waterless urinals, urine diversion toilets).[5][28][29][30]

• Pregnant mare urine is the source of estrogens for hormone replacement therapy (ex. Premarin).[5][20][21]

• Urine also contains antibodies, which can be used in diagnostic antibody tests for a range of pathogens, including HIV-1.[5][22]

• Ancient Chinese medicine used ants for the evaluation of urine of patients to detect whether the urine contained high levels of glucose.[38]  

• In the Middle Ages, urine charts were used to link the colours, tastes and smells of urine to various medical conditions.[39]

• Due to the fact that urea in urine breaks down into ammonia, urine has historically been used as a cleaning agent.[5][31]

• Urine was also historically used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Applied to straw or other organic material, the salts resulting from the rotting material were evaporated to allow collection of the crude saltpeter crystals used in making gunpowder.[5][32]

• It is an urban myth that urine works well against jellyfish stings. At best it is ineffective, and in some cases this treatment may make the injury worse.[5][33][34][35] 

On the question of whether or not cranberry juice can cure urinary tract Infections:[1]

"In general, the preventive efficacy of cranberry has been variable and modest at best. …The findings of the Cochrane Collaboration support the potential use of cranberry products in the prophylaxis of recurrent UTIs in young and middle-aged women. However, in light of the heterogeneity of clinical study designs and the lack of consensus regarding the dosage regimen and formulation to use, cranberry products cannot be recommended for the prophylaxis of recurrent UTIs at this time."

***

Fin

UPDATES & RELATED

Bladder Control Is All Thanks To Your Brain; What The Link Can Do To Treat Chronic Pelvic Pain / Medical Daily / October 15, 2014

REFERENCES

[1] Cranberry and urinary tract infections.

Guay DR Drugs. 2009;69(7):775-807. doi: 10.2165/00003495-200969070-00002. Review.

PMID:19441868 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[2] http://www.vox.com/2014/9/23/6538083/pee-urine-bladder

[3] http://www.livescience.com/32330-how-much-urine-can-a-healthy-bladder-hold.html

[4] http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/why-pee-smells-funny-eat-asparagus

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine

[6] Lison M, Blondheim SH, Melmed RN (1980). "A polymorphism of the ability to smell urinary metabolites of asparagus". Br Med J 281 (6256): 1676–8.doi:10.1136/bmj.281.6256.1676. PMC 1715705. PMID 7448566.

[7]  Michael T. Madigan; Thomas D. Brock (2009). Brock biology of microorganisms. Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 978-0-13-232460-1. Retrieved 10 September 2011.

[8]  Stefan Gates; Max La Riviere-Hedrick (15 March 2006). Gastronaut: adventures in food for the romantic, the foolhardy, and the brave. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 87–.ISBN 978-0-15-603097-7. Retrieved 27 April 2011.

[9] Foods that Affect the Odor of Urine. livestrong.com. December 27, 2010.

[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_system

[11] Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins; Charles William McLaughlin; Susan Johnson; Maryanna Quon Warner; David LaHart; Jill D. Wright (1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1.

[12]  Arthur C. Guyton; John Edward Hall (2006). "25". Textbook of medical physiology (11 ed.). Elsevier Saunders. ISBN 978-0-8089-2317-6. 

[13] David F. Putnam Composition and Concentrative Properties of Human Urine. NASA Contractor Report. July 1971

[14] http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/urine-color/basics/symptoms/con-20032831

[15] Watts AR, Lennard MS, Mason SL, Tucker GT, Woods HF (December 1993). "Beeturia and the biological fate of beetroot pigments". Pharmacogenetics 3 (6): 302–11.doi:10.1097/00008571-199312000-00004. PMID 8148871.

[16] Martín Hernández E, Aparicio López C, Alvarez Calatayud G, García Herrera MA (2001)."[Vesical uric acid lithiasis in a child with renal hypouricemia]". An. Esp. Pediatr. (in Spanish; Castilian) 55 (3): 273–6. PMID 11676906.

[17] Welch AA, Mulligan A, Bingham SA, Khaw KT (2007). "Urine pH is an indicator of dietary acid–base load, fruit and vegetables and meat intakes: Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk population study".British Journal of Nutrition 99 (6): 1335–1343. doi:10.1017/S0007114507862350.PMID 18042305.

[18]  Urine pH: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Nlm.nih.gov (2011-03-28). Retrieved on 2011-04-27.

[19]  Discovery Health "Urine PH – Medical Dictionary". Healthguide.howstuffworks.com (2007-05-16). Retrieved on 2011-04-27.

[20] Carrell, D.T., & Peterson, C. M. eds. (2010). Chapter 31, Artificial insemination: intrauterine insemination. 31.3.1.2 Gonadotrophins, Reproductive endocrinology and infertility.(Excerpt, p. 489), New York, New York: Springer. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-1436-1. 

[21]  Adelson, Andrea. Wall Street; A Fertility Drug Grows Scarce.http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/26/business/wall-street-a-fertility-drug-grows-scarce.html New York Times 1995-02-26

[22] Urine Antibody Tests: New Insights into the Dynamics of HIV-1 Infection – Urnovitz et al. 45 (9): 1602 – Clinical Chemistry. Clinchem.org.

[23] Morgan, Peter (2004). "10. The Usefulness of urine". An Ecological Approach to Sanitation in Africa: A Compilation of Experiences (CD release ed.). Aquamor, Harare, Zimbabwe. Retrieved 6 December 2011.

[24] Steinfeld, Carol (2004). Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants. Ecowaters Books. ISBN 978-0-9666783-1-4.

[25] M. Johansson; Jönsson, H.; Höglund, C.; Richert Stintzing, A.; Rodhe, L. (2001)."Urine Separation – Closing the Nitrogen Cycle" (PDF). Stockholm Water Company.

[26] South African city looks to turn urine into fertilizer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, November 2010. Sanitationfinance.org (2010-11-13). 

[27] Ganrot, Zsofia (2005). Ph.D. Thesis: Urine processing for efficient nutrient recovery and reuse in agriculture. Goteborg, Sweden: Goteborg University. p. 170.

[28] UDD-Toilets and urine management. (PDF). ecosanservices.org. 

[29] von Münch, E., Winker, M. (2011). Technology review of urine diversion components - Overview on urine diversion components such as waterless urinals, urine diversion toilets, urine storage and reuse systems. Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

[30] Mara Grunbaum Human urine is shown to be an effective agricultural fertilizer, Scientific American, July 2010.

[31] Sueton, Vespasian 23 English, Latin. Cf. Dio Cassius, Roman History, Book 65, chapter 14,5 English, Greek/French (66, 14)

[32] Joseph LeConte (1862). Instructions for the Manufacture of Saltpeter. Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina Military Department; printer: Charles P. Pelham. p. 14.

[33]  Old Wives' Tale? Urine as Jellyfish Sting Remedy. ABC News (2006-08-08). Retrieved on 2011-04-27.

[34]  Fact or Fiction?: Urinating on a Jellyfish Sting is an Effective Treatment. Scientific American. 4 January 2007. 

[35] Jellyfish Sting Treatment – How to Treat a Jellyfish Sting. Firstaid.about.com. 22 August 2010.

[36] http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-05/fyi-can-bladder-actually-burst
[37]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21095409
[38] Van der greef and Smilde, J Chemomet, (2005) 19:376-386
[39] Nicholson JK, Lindon JC (October 2008). "Systems biology: Metabonomics". Nature 455 (7216): 1054–6.Bibcode:2008Natur.455.1054N. doi:10.1038/4551054a.PMID 18948945.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/urinary-tract-infection.html

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/kidney_and_urinary_system_disorders/bladder_and_bowel_dysfunction_134,113/

IMAGE CREDITS

"Bigot, Trophime - A Doctor Examining Urine" by Trophime Bigot - Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bigot,_Trophime_-_A_Doctor_Examining_Urine.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Bigot,_Trophime_-_A_Doctor_Examining_Urine.jpg

"IMAG0466" by Rmosler2100 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IMAG0466.jpg#mediaviewer/File:IMAG0466.jpg

"216 pH Scale-01" by OpenStax College - Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/, Jun 19, 2013.. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:216_pH_Scale-01.jpg#mediaviewer/File:216_pH_Scale-01.jpg

"Urinary system" by Jordi March i Nogué [1] - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urinary_system.svg#mediaviewer/File:Urinary_system.svg