Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode we're moving

on to urology as a specialist topic and we're starting by talking about obstructive

uropathy. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero definals.com slash

obstructive uropathy or in the urology section of the zero to finals surgery book. So let's get

straight into it. The term obstructive uropathy refers to a blockage preventing urine flow

through the ureters, bladder and urethra.

This blockage causes a build-up of urine and back pressure up to the kidneys,

resulting in impaired kidney function.

Let's start by talking about the anatomy of the urinary tract and the key structures involved.

urine is produced in the kidneys. It then flows into the two urinary tract and the key structures involved. Urine is produced in the kidneys.

It then flows into the two ureters, one ureter for each kidney.

The ureters lead into the bladder,

and the bladder has a muscle called the detrusa muscle

that helps to squeeze urine out of the bladder.

urine flows from the bladder into the urethra.

There's an internal urethral sphincter,

which is smooth muscle under the control of the autonomic nervous system.

The urethra also flows through the prostate in men, but not in women.

And then there's the external urethal sylctor,

which is skeletal muscle under voluntary control.

So the person can actually control that voluntarily.

It's worth being familiar with the basic anatomy of the kidney.

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