Life Without These Body Fluids Is Impossible

Urine
The average adult produces about 1.5 liters of urine per day. Produced by the kidneys and stored by the bladder, urine contains many substances that must be removed from the body to maintain a state of health. These include the breakdown products of protein metabolism, which would become toxic if they were allowed to accumulate in the blood. Urine also serves as the principal means for removing excess salt and water from the body. A common diagnostic procedure in medicine is urinalysis. Finding glucose in urine could indicate that a patient is suffering from diabetes mellitus, a disease that got its name in part from the fact that the urine of diabetic patients tastes sweet. Likewise, finding bacteria suggests that the patient is suffering from a urinary tract infection. Interestingly, most of the amniotic fluid that cushions a fetus in utero is made up of urine produced by the fetus’ kidneys.