Urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that usually develops when micro organism enters the opening of the urethra and multiply in the urinary tract.

The urinary system consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The key player is the kidneys, a pair of purplish-brown organs located below the ribs toward the middle of the back. The kidneys filtered out the excess liquid and wastes from the blood in the form of urine. It keeps a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood, and produces a hormone that supports the formation of red blood cells. Narrow tubes called ureters takes urine from the kidneys to the bladder, a sack like organ in the lower abdomen. Urine is stored in the bladder and if full it is emptied through the urethra.

Urine contains some salts and waste products, but normally it does not contain bacteria. When bacteria get into the bladder or kidney and multiplied in the urine, a UTI can result.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that usually develops when bacteria enter the opening of the urethra and multiply in the urinary tract. The urinary tract includes the kidneys, the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder (ureters), the bladder, and the tube which connects the urinary bladder to the outside of the body (urethra).

The ureter at the bladder has a special construction that helps prevent urine from backing up into the kidneys, and the flow of urine through the urethra helps to expel bacteria.

Women develop the condition much more often than men, for reasons that are not fully known, although the much shorter female urethra is suspected. One woman in five develops a UTI during her lifetime. UTIs in men are not as common as in women but can be very serious when they do occur.