Excretory System Diseases

One of the most common diseases and disorders are those that affect the excretory system. The excretory or urinary system is the system that is responsible for removing all the waste materials that are circulating in our body. There are four main urinary system organs in the body, which are:

• Two kidneys
• Two ureters
• One urinary bladder
• One urethra

However, sometimes when there is malfunctioning of these organs, then it could lead to excretory system disorders.

Excretory System Diseases Affecting Various Organs
Given below are the various diseases that can affect each of the organs of the excretory system.

Kidneys
The kidneys are the main organs that are involved in the process of formation of urine. This is because the kidneys are responsible for filtration and removal of any kind of waste that may be present in the bloodstream. Thus, one of the excretory system facts is that they are most susceptible for being affected by various diseases, which results in kidney diseases. One of the most common diseases affecting the kidneys is inflammation of the kidneys, which is known as nephritis or pyelonephritis. In this condition, there is normally inflammation of the glomerulus, which is the first part of the nephron (the basic unit of the kidney). Symptoms of this disease include smelly urine and blood in urine, along with lower abdominal pain. Another disease that could occur in the kidneys is nephrosis. In this condition, there is malfunctioning of the kidneys, which leads to the formation of foamy urine and other systemic problems. One other common problem that may affect the kidneys is kidney stones. Kidney stones are small calcium deposits that are seen in the nephrons. These stones could also be large in size, may get infected, and in some cases, may even descend to the urinary tract, leading to pain in other parts of the urinary tract. One of the most severe cases of diseases that directly or indirectly affect the kidneys, can lead to kidney failure, a condition that is normally considered to have a high mortality rate.

Ureters
The diseases of the excretory system include diseases affecting the ureter. These conditions are normally due to an extension of either the kidney infections, or infections that spread upwards from either the urethra or the urinary bladder. Thus, in such cases, there may either be inflammation of the lining of the ureter, or there could be lodgment of a kidney stone in the ureter, which could lead to obstruction of flow of urine, thus, leading to other systemic diseases and syndromes.

Urinary Bladder
Diseases affecting the bladder are also some of the most common urinary tract infections. This is because, the bladder is the place where the urine is stored in the body, until the bladder is full, only after which does the person feel the need to urinate. Thus, the bladder could end up being a breeding ground for bacteria. This is one of the causes of bladder infections. There are many bladder infection signs, like difficulty urinating or painful urination, blood in urine, cloudy urine, sharp pain and soreness in the lower abdomen, foul-smelling urine, etc.

Urethra
Diseases affecting the urethra include inflammation of the urethra, which is known as urethritis. The urethra is susceptible to getting afflicted by infections because it is exposed at one end and hence, the presence of any urine could instigate an inflammatory reaction, which could lead to urethritis and other such diseases.

There are other conditions also which may occur in relation to the excretory system, like urinary incontinence, which occurs when the functioning of the sphincter is affected. However, in most cases, urinary tract infections can be cured with the help of antibiotics, but it is important that one gets timely treatment for his or her condition, so as to prevent any permanent damage to the excretory system.