Genitourinary system

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In anatomy, the genitourinary system or urogenital system is the organ system of the reproductive organs and the urinary system. These are grouped together because of their proximity to each other, their common embryological origin and the use of common pathways, like the male urethra.

• Male urogenital development 3D animation: [1]
• Female urogenital development 3D animation: [2]

To gain access to the body, pathogens can penetrate mucous membranes lining the genitourinary tract.

Development

The urinary and reproductive organs are developed from the intermediate mesoderm. The permanent organs of the adult are preceded by a set of structures that are purely embryonic, and that, with the exception of the ducts, disappear almost entirely before the end of fetal life. These embryonic structures are on either side: the pronephros, the mesonephros and the metanephros of the kidney, and the Wolffian and Müllerian ducts of the sex organ. The pronephros disappears very early; the structural elements of the mesonephros mostly degenerate, but the gonad is developed in their place, with which the Wolffian duct remains as the duct in males, and the Müllerian as that of the female. Some of the tubules of the mesonephros form part of the permanent kidney.

See also

• Reproductive organs
• Urinary system

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