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• Summary
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• Diagnosis and Tests

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• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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• Reference Desk
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• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your kidneys make urine by filtering wastes and extra water from your blood. The urine travels from the kidneys to the bladder in two thin tubes called ureters.

The ureters are about 8 to 10 inches long. Muscles in the ureter walls tighten and relax to force urine down and away from the kidneys. Small amounts of urine flow from the ureters into the bladder about every 10 to 15 seconds.

Sometimes the ureters can become blocked or injured. This can block the flow of urine to the bladder. If urine stands still or backs up the ureter, you may get a urinary tract infection.

Doctors diagnose problems with the ureters using different tests. These include urine tests, x-rays, and examination of the ureter with a scope called a cystoscope. Treatment depends on the cause of the problem. It may include medicines and, in severe cases, surgery.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

• Urinary Tract and How It Works (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Cystoscopy and Ureteroscopy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Intravenous Pyelogram (IVP) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Urinary Tract Imaging (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• General Information about Transitional Cell Cancer of the Renal Pelvis and Ureter (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Genetics

• Congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Retroperitoneal fibrosis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Ureteral Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Ureteral Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Perioperative and functionnal outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic versus open ureterovesical reimplantation...
• Article: Robot-assisted ureteric reconstructive surgeries for benign diseases: Initial single-center experience with...
• Article: Minimal-invasive ileal ureter replacement for the management of multiple ureteral polyps:...
• Ureteral Disorders -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Kidneys and Urinary Tract (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

• Hydronephrosis in Newborns (National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse) Also in Spanish
• Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Injury - kidney and ureter (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Retroperitoneal fibrosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ureteral reimplantation surgery - children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ureteral retrograde brush biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ureterocele (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish