The main difference between female and male urine is that female urine contains hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and hCG, whereas male urine contains hormones such as testosterone.
Generally, female and male urine differ in their composition, especially in the presence of sex hormones.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Female Urine
– Definition, Constituents, Importance
2. What is Male Urine
– Definition, Constituents, Importance
3. Similarities Between Female and Male Urine
– Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Female and Male Urine
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Female Urine, Male Urine, Urine
What is Female Urine
Female urine is the urine produced by females. The most significant feature of female urine is the presence of female sex hormones. In general, female urine contains estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is the primary sex hormone in females, and its main function is the development of secondary female sex characteristics. Generally, estrogen occurs in higher amounts in the female body. There are three types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol, and estriol.
Figure 1: Estrogens
Furthermore, progesterone is the steroid hormone that prepares the uterus for pregnancy. Corpus luteum releases progesterone. In pregnancy, both ovaries and the placenta produce progesterone. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is the hormone produced in the placenta during pregnancy. It is excreted in the urine of pregnant women.
What is Male Urine
Male urine is the urine produced in males. The main feature in male urine is the presence of higher amounts of creatinine in comparison to females. Also, creatinine is excreted in the urine. Male urine also contains male sex hormones. The primary sex hormone in males is testosterone. It is responsible for the determination of the secondary male sex characteristics.
Figure 2: Testosterone
The production of creatinine is generally high in males in comparison to females. The excretion of creatinine occurs through urine.
Similarities Between Female and Male Urine
- Female and male urine are the liquid by-product of metabolism in females and males.
- They flow from the kidney to the urinary bladder through the ureters.
- Urine is rich in nitrogenous waste products such as urea, uric acid, and creatinine.
- Moreover, the average urine production is 1.4 L of urine per person per day in adults.
- Urea contains water (95%), urea (2%), creatinine (0.1%), uric acid (0.03%), chloride, sodium, potassium, sulfate, ammonium, phosphate, and other ions and molecules in lesser amounts.
- The normal color of urine is a pale yellow to deep amber.
- It may have a strong “fish-like” odor due to contamination with bacteria that break down urea into ammonia.
- In addition, the pH of the urine is 6.2.
- The density of urine is 1.003–1.035.
Difference Between Female and Male Urine
Definition
Female urine refers to the urine of females while male urine refers to the urine of males.
Sex Hormones
Female urine contains estrogen and progesterone while male urine contains testosterone.
hCG
Moreover, female urine contains hCG during pregnancy while male urine does not contain hCG.
Creatinine
In addition, female urine contains lower amounts of creatinine while male urine contains a higher amount of creatinine.
Conclusion
Urine is the liquid by-product of metabolism, containing nitrogenous wastes such as urea and uric acid. The main difference between female and male urine is the presence of sex hormones in urine. Female urine contains progesterone and estrogen while male urine contains testosterone in urine. In addition to that, female urine contains hCG in pregnancy. Moreover, female urine contains a lower amount of creatinine while male urine contains a higher amount of creatinine.
References:
- Fan, Sili, et al. “Sex-Associated Differences in Baseline Urinary Metabolites of Healthy Adults.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 8 Aug. 2018
Image Courtesy:
- “Estrogen” By Pamela Frank – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
- “1-testosterone” By Xasodfuih – Own Work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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