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Urinary system anatomy in 3D

Beta

Explore both kidneys, the ureters, the urinary bladder and the urethra, together with the renal arteries and veins and the great vessels beside them.

Beta

Interactive 3D atlas

Loads about 9 MB of 3D data the first time. Works best on a laptop or a recent phone.

Study the urinary system in 3D

Explore both kidneys, the ureters, the urinary bladder and the urethra, together with the renal arteries and veins and the great vessels beside them.

Turn and zoom

Drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom, and tap any part to see its name and explanation.

Labels and standard views

Switch labels on or off and jump to front, back, side, top and bottom views, with an orientation cube.

Section cuts

Cut through the structure in transverse, coronal or sagittal planes and slide the cut through it.

Explode and see-through

Pull the parts apart, or make the outer layers faint to see what is inside.

Guided tour

Follow the "Path of urine" tour one step at a time, or press Play and let the camera fly to each part.

Parts in this model

54 named parts, each with the FMA identifier the dataset gives it. Tap a group in the app to show or hide it.

  • Kidneys2
  • Ureters2
  • Urinary bladder1
  • Urethra1
  • Renal arteries36
  • Renal veins6
  • Abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava (context)3
  • Adrenal glands (context)2
  • Prostate (context)1

Guided tour: Path of urine (5 steps)

Each step highlights the parts it talks about. The sentence is quoted word for word from OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e.

  1. 1. Kidneys

    As urine is formed, it drains into the calyces of the kidney, which merge to form the funnel-shaped renal pelvis in the hilum of each kidney.
    OpenStax, 25.2 Ureters

  2. 2. Ureters

    The renal pelvis narrows to become the ureter of each kidney.
    OpenStax, 25.2 Ureters

  3. 3. Into the bladder

    As they approach the bladder, they turn medially and pierce the bladder wall obliquely.
    OpenStax, 25.2 Ureters

  4. 4. Urethra

    The urethra transports urine from the bladder to the outside of the body for disposal.
    OpenStax, 25.2 Urethra

  5. 5. Blood in and out of the kidneys

    The renal arteries form directly from the descending aorta, whereas the renal veins return cleansed blood directly to the inferior vena cava.
    OpenStax, 25.3 Renal Hilum

What this model does not show

The kidneys are single outer surfaces, so the cortex, medulla and pyramids are not shown. The ureter meshes branch inside each kidney, but the branches are not named, so they are not labelled as renal pelvis or calyces.

Where the data or the textbook has a gap, the atlas says so instead of filling it in.

Keep exploring

Questions

What can I see in the urinary system model?

The model has 54 named parts in 9 groups: Kidneys, Ureters, Urinary bladder, Urethra, Renal arteries, Renal veins, Abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava (context), Adrenal glands (context) and 1 more groups.

What is the "Path of urine" tour?

It is a guided tour of 5 steps. Each step highlights the parts it describes and shows a sentence quoted from OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e. Press Play to let the camera fly to each step for you.

What is missing from the urinary system model?

The kidneys are single outer surfaces, so the cortex, medulla and pyramids are not shown. The ureter meshes branch inside each kidney, but the branches are not named, so they are not labelled as renal pelvis or calyces.

Where does the information come from?

The 3D shapes come from the BodyParts3D dataset (and, for the female pelvic region, the Human Reference Atlas). Every explanation is a sentence quoted word for word from the open textbook OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, with a link to its section.

Can I use it to diagnose or treat anything?

No. The atlas is for learning only. It is a beta version and has not yet been reviewed by an anatomy educator.

Credits and disclaimer

For learning only, not for diagnosis or treatment. This is a beta version and it has not yet been reviewed by an anatomy educator.

BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International. Text quoted from OpenStax, Anatomy and Physiology 2e, © Rice University, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Female pelvic region from the Human Reference Atlas (HuBMAP), CC BY 4.0.

This tool is free, non-commercial and made for education. It has no ads and no paid features.

All sources and licences