Ureters

Ureter
Ureter (Anatomical View)
Ureter (Schematic View) 1. Human urinary system: 2. Kidney, 3. Renal pelvis, 4. Ureter, 5. Urinary bladder, 6. Urethra. (Left side with frontal section), 7. Adrenal gland Vessels: 8. Renal artery and vein, 9. Inferior vena cava, 10. Abdominal aorta, 11. Common iliac artery and vein With transparency: 12. Liver, 13. Large intestine, 14. Pelvis
Details
Precursor	Ureteric bud
Artery	Superior vesical artery, Vaginal artery, Ureteral branches of renal artery
Identifiers
Latin	Ureter
MeSH	A05.810.776
TA	A08.2.01.001
FMA	9704
Anatomical terminology []

In human anatomy, the ureters are tubes made of smooth muscle fibers that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In the adult, the ureters are usually 25–30 cm (10–12 in) long and ~3–4 mm in diameter. Histologically, the ureter contains transitional epithelium and an additional smooth muscle layer in the more distal one-third to assist with peristalsis.

In humans, the ureters arise from the pelvis of each kidney, and descend on top of the psoas major muscle to reach the brim of the pelvis. Here, they cross in front of the common iliac arteries. They then pass down along the sides of the pelvis, and finally curve forwards and enter the bladder from its left and right sides at the back of the bladder. This is classically depicted as running "posteroinferiorly on the lateral walls of the pelvis and then curve anteromedially to enter the bladder". The orifices of the ureters are placed at the postero-lateral angles of the trigone of the bladder, and are usually slit-like in form. In the contracted bladder they are about 2.5 cm. apart and about the same distance from the internal urethral orifice; in the distended bladder these measurements may be increased to about 5 cm.

The junction between the pelvis of the kidney and the ureters is known as the ureteropelvic junction or ureteral pelvic junction, and the junction between the ureter and the bladder is known as the ureterovesical (ureter-bladder) junction. At the entrance to the bladder, the ureters are surrounded by valves known as ureterovesical valves, which prevent vesicoureteral reflux (backflow of urine).

In females, the ureters pass through the mesometrium and under the uterine arteries on the way to the urinary bladder.

The ureter has a diameter of 3 mm but there are five constrictions,]:

During the embryologic development of the kidney, the ureteropelvic junction is the last part of the ureter to become patent.