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Urine, excreted by the kidneys, is a liquid containing excess water and water-soluble nitrogen-rich by-products of metabolism including urea, uric acid, and creatinine, which must be cleared from the bloodstream. Urinalysis detects these nitrogenous wastes in mammals.
In placental mammals, urine travels from the kidneys via the ureters to the bladder and exits the urethra through the penis or vulva during urination. Other vertebrates excrete urine through the cloaca.[1]
Urine plays an important role in the earth's nitrogen cycle. In balanced ecosystems, urine fertilizes the soil and thus helps plants to grow. Therefore, urine can be used as a fertilizer. Some animals mark their territories with urine.[2][3] Historically, aged or fermented urine (known as lant) was also used in gunpowder production, household cleaning, leather tanning, and textile dyeing.
Human urine and feces, called human waste or human excreta, are managed via sanitation systems. Livestock urine and feces also require proper management if the livestock population density is high.
- ^ Marvalee H. Wake (15 September 1992). Hyman's Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. University of Chicago Press. p. 583. ISBN 978-0-226-87013-7. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ MacDonald, David W. "Patterns of scent marking with urine and faeces amongst carnivore communities." Symposia of the Zoological Society of London. Vol. 45. No. 107. 1980.
- ^ Ewer, R. F. (2013-12-11). Ethology of Mammals. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4899-4656-0.