Each hormone in the body is unique.  Each one is different in it's chemical composition, structure, and action.  With respect to their chemical structure, hormones may be classified into three groups: amines, proteins, and steroids.

 Amines- these simple hormones are  structural variation of the amino acid tyrosine.  This group includes thyroxine from the thyroid gland and epinephrine and norepinephrine from the adrenal medulla.

Proteins- these hormones are chains of amino acids.  Insulin from the pancreas, growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland, and calcitonin from the thyroid gland are all proteins.  Short chains of amino acids are called peptides.  Antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin, synthesized by the hypothalamus, are peptide hormones.

Steroids- cholesterol is the precursor for the steroid hormones, which include cortisol and aldosterone from the adrenal cortex, estrogen and progesterone from the ovaries, and testosterone from the testes.

Micturition (urination) is a process, by which the final urine is eliminated out of the body .
After being drained into the ureters, urine is stored in urinary bladder until being eliminated.

Bladder is a hollow muscular organ, which has three layers:

- epithelium : Composed of superficial layer of flat cells and deep layer of cuboidal cells.

- muscular layer : contain smooth muscle fibers, that are arranged in longitudinal, spiral and circular pattern . Detrusor  muscle is the main muscle of bladder. The thickening of detrusor muscle forms internal urinary sphinctor which is not an actual urinary sphincter. The actual one is the external urinary sphincter, which is composed of striated muscle and is a part of urogenital diaphragm.

- adventitia: composed of connective tissue fibers.

So: There are two phases of bladder function that depend on characterestics of its muscular wall and innervation :

1. Bladder filling : Urine is poured into bladder through the orifices of ureters. Bladder has five peristaltic contraction per minute . These contraction facilitate moving of urine from the ureter to the bladder as prevent reflux of urine into the ureter.. The capacity of bladder is about  400  ml. But when the bladder start filling its wall extends and thus the pressure is not increased with the increased urine volume.

2. Bladder emptying : When bladder is full stretch receptors in bladder wall are excited , and send signals via the sensory branches of pelvic nerves to the sacral plexus. The first urge to void is felt at a bladder volume of about 150 ml. In sacral portion of spinal cord the sensory signals are integrated and then a motor signal is sent to the urinarry blader muscles through the efferent branches of pelvic nerve itself.

In adult people the neurons in sacral portion could be influenced by nerve signals coming from brain ( Micturition center in pons ) that are also influenced by signals coming from cerebral cortex.

So: The sensory signals ,transmitted to the sacral region will also stimulate ascending pathway and the signals be also transmitted to the micturition center in the brain stem and then to the cerebrum to cause conscious desire for urination.

If micturition is not convenient the brain sends signals to inhibit the parasympathetic motor neuron to the bladder via the sacral neurons. 

It also send inhibitory signal via the somatomotor pudendal nerve to keep external urinary sphincter contracting.

When micturition is convenient a brain signal via the sacral neurons stimulate the parasympathetic pelvic nerve to cause contraction of detruser muscle via M-cholinergic receptors and causes relaxation of external urinary sphincter and the micturition occurs.

Sympathetic hypogastric nerve does not contribute that much to the micturition reflex. It plays role in prvrntion reflux of semen into urinary bladder during ejaculation by contracting bladder muscles.

Bile contains:

• bile acids. These amphiphilic steroids emulsify ingested fat. The hydrophobic portion of the steroid dissolves in the fat while the negatively-charged side chain interacts with water molecules. The mutual repulsion of these negatively-charged droplets keeps them from coalescing. Thus large globules of fat (liquid at body temperature) are emulsified into tiny droplets (about 1 µm in diameter) that can be more easily digested and absorbed.

• bile pigments. These are the products of the breakdown of hemoglobin removed by the liver from old red blood cells. The brownish color of the bile pigments imparts the characteristic brown color of the feces.

GENERAL VISCERAL AFFERENT (GVA) PATHWAYS

Pain and Pressure Sensation via the Spinal Cord

Visceral pain receptors are located in peritoneal surfaces, pleural membranes, the dura mater, walls of arteries, and the walls of the GI tube.

Nociceptors in the walls of the GI tube are particularly sensitive to stretch and overdistension.

General visceral nociceptors conduct signals into the spinal cord over the monopolar neurons of the posterior root ganglia. They terminate in laminae III and IV of the posterior horn as do the pain and temperature pathways of the GSA system , their peripheral processes reach the visceral receptors via the gray rami communicantes and ganglia of the sympathetic chain

Second-order neurons from the posterior horn cross in the anterior white commissure and ascend to the thalamus in the anterior and lateral spinothalamic tracts,

Projections from the VPL of the thalamus relay signals to the sensory cortex.

The localization of visceral pain is relatively poor, making it difficult to tell the exact source of the stimuli.

Blood Pressure, Blood Chemistry, and Alveolar Stretch Detection

The walls of the aorta and the carotid sinuses contain special baroreceptors (pressure receptors) which respond to changes in blood pressure. These mechanoreceptors are the peripheral endings of GVA fibers of the glossopharyngeal (IX) and vagus (X) nerves

The GVA fibers from the carotid sinus baroreceptors enter the solitary tract of the brainstem and terminate in the vasomotor center of the medulla (Fig-14). This is the CNS control center for cardiovascular activity.

Stretch receptors in the alveoli of the lungs conduct information concerning rhythmic alveolar inflation and deflation over GVA X fibers to the solitary tract and then to the respiratory center of the brainstem. This route is an important link in the Hering-Breuer reflex, which helps to regulate respiration.

Carotid body chemoreceptors, sensitive to changes in blood PO2 and, to a lesser extent, PCO2 and pH, conduct signals to both the vasomotor and respiratory centers over GVA IX nerve fibers

GVA X fibers conduct similar information from the aortic chemoreceptors to both centers

1 - Passive processes - require no expenditure of energy by a cell:

• Simple diffusion = net movement of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. The rate of diffusion is influenced by:
  • concentration gradient
  • cross-sectional area through which diffusion occurs
  • temperature
  • molecular weight of a substance
  • distance through which diffusion occurs
• Osmosis = diffusion of water across a semi permeable membrane (like a cell membrane) from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration

• Facilitated diffusion = movement of a substance across a cell membrane from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. This process requires the use of 'carriers' (membrane proteins). In the example below, a ligand molecule (e.g., acetylcholine) binds to the membrane protein. This causes a conformational change or, in other words, an 'opening' in the protein through which a substance (e.g., sodium ions) can pass.

2 - Active processes - require the expenditure of energy by cells:

• Active transport = movement of a substance across a cell membrane from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration using a carrier molecule
• Endo- & exocytosis - moving material into (endo-) or out of (exo-) cell in bulk form

Characteristics of Facilitated Diffusion & Active Transport - both require the use of carriers that are specific to particular substances (that is, each type of carrier can 'carry' one type of substance) and both can exhibit saturation (movement across a membrane is limited by number of carriers & the speed with which they move materials