Snake Urinary System
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The urinary system of snakes consists of paired lobulated kidneys and ureters that empty into the dorsal urodeum.
Kidney
Paired kidneys are located in the dorsal caudal coelomic cavity with the right kidney cranial to the left. They are elongated, lobulated and somewhat triangular in cross section. All reptiles have metanephric kidneys that are simpler than the mammalian counterpart. There are decreased number of glomeruli (some species are aglomerular) and there is no loop of Henle. They may have one or more renal arteries and in some species, there is a separate branch of the ureter draining each lobule. There may be a sexual segment in the caudal kidney that follows up the distal part of each tubule and empties into a collecting duct. Since no urinary bladder is present, urine is not stored and ureters empty directy into the cloaca.
- For information on renal diseases, see snake renal disease.
Uric acid
Uric acid is the main form of nitrogenous waste with lesser amounts of ammonia and urea depending on the species, the natural environment and degree of water conservation required. Uric acid is excreted by tubular secretion rather than urea by glomerular filtration
Ureters and Cloaca
Snakes have no bladder. The ureter enters the urodeum at a urogenital papilla and urine refluxes into the colon for fluid conservation.
Reference
Mader, D.R. (2005). Reptile Medicine and Surgery. Saunders. pp. 49. ISBN 072169327X