How the Female Urinary Tract Works

Ever wondered what the female urethra is? It’s an essential part of a finely tuned system your body relies on every day.

Your urinary system plays a quiet but vital role in keeping you healthy. Its organs work together to carry out essential functions, like removing waste from the body.

Understanding how this system works and what’s normal for you can help you recognize changes sooner and find medical care early if something is not working as it should.

The Female Urinary Tract & How It Works

The female urinary system does more than help you pee.^{1, 2} It’s made up of various organs, including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. They work together every day to:¹

• Remove waste
• Filter your blood
• Maintain the balance of fluids, acids, and bases (chemical substances that can neutralize acids, helping to keep the body’s pH balance stable)
• Support healthy blood pressure
• Help produce red blood cells

The Female Urinary System Explained

The female urinary tract works independently but shares space with the reproductive system.³ Its close location means changes in one system can affect the other.³

For example, your bladder rests on the pelvic floor, just behind the uterus and vagina.⁴ This position could make incontinence more likely when pregnancy and childbirth put extra pressure on the muscles that support the bladder.⁵

What Organs Make up the Female Urinary Tract?

The anatomy of the female urinary tract has two parts: the upper and lower tract.²

The upper urinary tract has:

• two kidneys on the left and right of your body, which filter your blood to remove waste and excess water. At the same time, they make urine from these waste products.²
• two ureters, which are tubes made of muscle. Their function is to transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder.²

The lower urinary tract has:

• the bladder is situated between your hip bones in the pelvic cavity and temporarily stores urine. When your bladder fills up, nerves in the bladder wall send a message to your brain. That message is what lets you know it’s time to use the bathroom.²
• one urethra, a tube connected to the bottom of your bladder, that leads to outside the body. Sphincter muscles between the two act like valves that keep the urine in or open to allow the urine to leave through the female urinary opening.²

How Does the Female Urinary System Work?

Using the bathroom doesn’t just involve your bladder and urethra.² The journey starts in your kidneys and ends in your vagina, relying on muscles and nerves along the way.² All these parts work to help you pee.²

Let’s take a closer look at the organs that help urine leave the body and how this process works.

What Is a Urethra?

The urethra is a single tube-like organ that carries urine from the bladder to the vagina.¹ The female urethra anatomy differs from men’s: it’s shorter and opens in front of the vaginal opening.¹

This shorter length makes infections more common, so knowing some simple prevention tips can be really helpful⁶ – read on, we’ve got some tips coming!

Urinary Bladder Function

The bladder is a sac-like organ that stores urine until you’re ready to pee.¹ As it fills, the muscles stretch to allow it to expand.¹ Working together with the urethra and surrounding muscles, the bladder helps control when and how urine leaves your body.²

Changes after pregnancy or childbirth can sometimes weaken this control, which could affect comfort and intimacy.^5,7 Understanding how the bladder works and ways to strengthen it can help maintain its function – and your confidence.

Interested in learning more about the male urinary tract and how it works? Read our article about how the male urinary system works.

The Process of Female Urination

As your bladder fills with urine, signals travel from the brain to the bladder to keep it relaxed and the urethra contracted, so the urine stays inside.⁸

When bladder pressure increases and you’re ready to pee, the brain changes those signals.^4,8 At this point, the spinal nerves help trigger the bladder to contract, to allow urine to flow into the urethra.⁸

When the bladder contracts, the muscle around the urethra relaxes.⁴ This allows urine flow in women from the bladder to the urethra, and out of the body, through the urethral opening just in front of the vagina.⁴

Why is the Urinary Tract Important?

The urinary tract works closely with other systems in your body to keep you healthy,¹ such as the endocrine system. It produces hormones that help your kidneys regulate water and salt, which impacts how your heart, muscles, and bones function.¹

When the urinary system isn’t working well, it could affect:⁹

• how your body processes vitamin D
• your blood pressure
• fluid balance
• heart and muscle function
• hormone activity

What Affects the Amount of Urine You Produce?

On average, you pee about 6 to 7 times a day.¹⁰ If you go more often, that’s also okay.¹⁰ Several factors influence how much urine your body produces, including:

• Hydration²
• Medications²
• Certain health conditions, like diabetes or urinary tract infections¹⁰
• Hormonal changes, such as during pregnancy¹⁰
• Alcohol and caffeine¹⁰
• The type of meals you eat and the amounts²

What Is Pee Made Of?

When you’re healthy, your urine is about 91–96% water.¹¹ The rest includes:¹¹

• Salts
• Waste products, like urea and uric acid
• Electrolytes, like potassium and phosphorus

If your kidneys aren’t filtering as they should, your pee could also contain:¹¹

• Extra waste products
• Proteins
• Blood

What Can Cause Urinary System Problems?

Your urinary system can develop several medical problems like infections, kidney stones or bladder disorders.¹²

Urinary tract infections (UTIs)

These are usually caused by bacteria entering the urinary tract, and your urethra, bladder or kidneys can be affected.¹³

Kidney stones

Your urine naturally contains minerals, but stones can form when they crystalize. Urine also contains substances to prevent stones, but if the balance is off, that’s when they can form. Not drinking enough fluids, obesity and some medications could affect this balance.¹⁴

Bladder disorders

Conditions like urinary incontinence (the loss of bladder control) fall under this umbrella term. There are several types, such as stress incontinence and overactive bladder, and the causes differ. They include aging and bladder muscle overactivity.¹⁵

If you are experiencing leaks, drips or dribbles due to bladder disorders, or something else, TENA has a range of products specifically designed for women to help you feel comfortable, confident and secure to carry on with your day.

UTI Prevention Tips¹⁶

To help prevent UTIs, you should:

• Drink plenty of water to flush out bacteria and waste from your urinary system
• Don’t hold in your urine for long periods
• Practice good hygiene, including wiping front to back for women
• Pee after sexual activity to reduce infection risk
• Limit excess salt and sugary drinks
• Maintain a healthy weight and stay active
• See your doctor if there’s any pain, burning, blood in your pee or you get frequent infections

FAQs

Why Do Women Need to Pee after Sex?

Being sexually active is a risk factor for UTIs.⁶ Sex could be an opportunity for these bacteria to enter your urethra¹⁸ and that’s why peeing before and after sex could help flush out harmful bacteria and reduce your risk of infection.¹⁸

Are Male and Female Bladders Different?

While everyone’s bladders are similar, the urethra differs in length and position.⁴ The length of the female urethra is shorter and opens in front of the vagina, whereas the male urethra is longer and opens at the tip of the penis.⁴

How Does a Doctor Test for a Urinary Tract Infection?

When your doctor suspects a UTI, they might do a urinalysis or a urine culture.¹⁸ These tests check for signs of infection, like the presence of bacteria, and help your doctor decide the most appropriate care for you.¹⁸

Why Are Women More Prone to Urinary Tract Infections?

While anyone can get a UTI, it’s more common in women.⁶ Women are more vulnerable because of a shorter urethra and its closeness to the anus, which could allow bacteria to enter easily.^{6, 18}