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Excretory System

What Is Urine?

What Is Urine?
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.95

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    actuality, bile, filtrate, glomerular, sphincter, unclean, digestion, dioxide, carbon, urea, urethra, ammonia, urination, fluid, spinal, diaper

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What Is Urine?
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     What is urine? Urine is the fluid waste excreted by the kidneys. People often think of urine as "yucky" but in ancient times urine was sometimes used for washing, mouthwash, or drinking. Can you believe that?
 
2     In actuality, urine is made of water and wastes. Ninety-six percent of it is water and four percent of it is waste such as urea and salts. Your urine is basically yellow in color because of bile pigments. Bile is produced by the liver to help in digestion. When it is done doing its job, the bile is broken down and that's where the pigments come from.
 
3     If you drink a great deal, the urine will be pale. If, on the other hand, you are sweating a lot or drinking too little, the urine will be darker in color. When you go to the bathroom for the first time in the morning, your urine is usually the darkest.

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