full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Heba Shaheed: Is it bad to hold your pee?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


It begins with a bit of discomfort and soon becomes a pressing sensation that's imisbsople to ignore. Finally, it's all you can think about, and out of sheer desperation, you go on a hunt for a boahtorm until "ahh." Humans should unirtae at least four to six times a day, but occasionally, the pressures of modern life forces us to clench and hold it in. How bad is this habit, and how long can our beoids wsiantthd it? The answers lie in the workings of the bladder, an oval pcouh that sits inside the pelvis. Surrounding this structure are several other organs that together make up the whole urinary system. Two kidneys, two ureters, two urethral sphincters, and a urethra. Constantly trickling down from the kidneys is the yellowish liquid known as urine. The knyedis make urine from a mix of wetar and the body's waste podrtucs, funneling the unwanted fluid into two muscular tubes called ureerts. These carry it downward into the hollow oagrn known as the bladder. This organ's mcuulsar wall is made of tissue called detrusor muslce which relaxes as the bladder fills allowing it to inflate like a balloon. As the bladder gets full, the desutorr contracts. The internal urethral sphincter automatically and involuntarily opens, and the urine is released. Whooshing downwards, the fluid enters the urethra and stops short at the external urethral sphincter. This works like a tap. When you want to delay urinating, you keep the sphincter closed. When you want to release it, you can voluntarily open the flood gates. But how do you sesne your bladder's fullness so you know when to pee? Inside the layers of detrusor muscles are millions of stretch receptors that get triggered as the bladder fllis. They send signals along your nerves to the sacral region in your spinal cord. A reflex signal telrvas back to your bladder, mnkiag the detrusor muscle crtcaont stillghy and icsinnaerg the bladder's pressure so you're aware that it's filling up. snialstlouemuy, the internal urethral snichtper opens. This is called the mctiiruotin reflex. The biran can counter it if it's not a good time to urinate by sending another signal to contract the external urethral sphincter. With about 150 to 200 milliliters of urine inside of it, the bladder's muscular wall is stretched enough for you to sense that there's unrie within. At about 400 to 500 milliliters, the pressure becomes uncomfortable. The badeldr can go on stretching, but only to a piont. Above 1,000 milliliters, it may burst. Most people would lose bladder control before this happens, but in very rare cases, such as when as a person can't sense the need to urinate, the pouch can rupture painfully requiring surgery to fix. But under normal circumstances, your decision to urinate sptos the brain's signal to the external urteharl sphincter, causing it to relax and the bladder to empty. The external urethral sphincter is one of the muscles of the pelvic floor, and it provides support to the urethra and bladder neck. It's lucky we have these pleivc floor muscles because placing perussre on the syetsm by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or jumping could cause bladder laakgee. Instead, the pelvic floor mlceuss keep the region saleed until you're ready to go. But holding it in for too long, fniocrg out your urine too fast, or urinating without proper physical support may over time weaken or overwork that muscular sling. That can lead to an overactive pelvic floor, bladder pain, urgency, or urinary incontinence. So in the interest of long-term health, it's not a great habit to hold your pee. But in the short term, at least, your body and brain have got you covered, so you can conveniently choose your moment of sweet release.

Open Cloze


It begins with a bit of discomfort and soon becomes a pressing sensation that's __________ to ignore. Finally, it's all you can think about, and out of sheer desperation, you go on a hunt for a ________ until "ahh." Humans should _______ at least four to six times a day, but occasionally, the pressures of modern life forces us to clench and hold it in. How bad is this habit, and how long can our ______ _________ it? The answers lie in the workings of the bladder, an oval _____ that sits inside the pelvis. Surrounding this structure are several other organs that together make up the whole urinary system. Two kidneys, two ureters, two urethral sphincters, and a urethra. Constantly trickling down from the kidneys is the yellowish liquid known as urine. The _______ make urine from a mix of _____ and the body's waste ________, funneling the unwanted fluid into two muscular tubes called _______. These carry it downward into the hollow _____ known as the bladder. This organ's ________ wall is made of tissue called detrusor ______ which relaxes as the bladder fills allowing it to inflate like a balloon. As the bladder gets full, the ________ contracts. The internal urethral sphincter automatically and involuntarily opens, and the urine is released. Whooshing downwards, the fluid enters the urethra and stops short at the external urethral sphincter. This works like a tap. When you want to delay urinating, you keep the sphincter closed. When you want to release it, you can voluntarily open the flood gates. But how do you _____ your bladder's fullness so you know when to pee? Inside the layers of detrusor muscles are millions of stretch receptors that get triggered as the bladder _____. They send signals along your nerves to the sacral region in your spinal cord. A reflex signal _______ back to your bladder, ______ the detrusor muscle ________ ________ and __________ the bladder's pressure so you're aware that it's filling up. ______________, the internal urethral _________ opens. This is called the ___________ reflex. The _____ can counter it if it's not a good time to urinate by sending another signal to contract the external urethral sphincter. With about 150 to 200 milliliters of urine inside of it, the bladder's muscular wall is stretched enough for you to sense that there's _____ within. At about 400 to 500 milliliters, the pressure becomes uncomfortable. The _______ can go on stretching, but only to a _____. Above 1,000 milliliters, it may burst. Most people would lose bladder control before this happens, but in very rare cases, such as when as a person can't sense the need to urinate, the pouch can rupture painfully requiring surgery to fix. But under normal circumstances, your decision to urinate _____ the brain's signal to the external ________ sphincter, causing it to relax and the bladder to empty. The external urethral sphincter is one of the muscles of the pelvic floor, and it provides support to the urethra and bladder neck. It's lucky we have these ______ floor muscles because placing ________ on the ______ by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or jumping could cause bladder _______. Instead, the pelvic floor _______ keep the region ______ until you're ready to go. But holding it in for too long, _______ out your urine too fast, or urinating without proper physical support may over time weaken or overwork that muscular sling. That can lead to an overactive pelvic floor, bladder pain, urgency, or urinary incontinence. So in the interest of long-term health, it's not a great habit to hold your pee. But in the short term, at least, your body and brain have got you covered, so you can conveniently choose your moment of sweet release.

Solution


  1. bathroom
  2. travels
  3. organ
  4. slightly
  5. sphincter
  6. muscle
  7. making
  8. brain
  9. stops
  10. sense
  11. urinate
  12. micturition
  13. urethral
  14. detrusor
  15. increasing
  16. muscular
  17. bodies
  18. kidneys
  19. water
  20. ureters
  21. products
  22. simultaneously
  23. pressure
  24. fills
  25. impossible
  26. bladder
  27. system
  28. urine
  29. contract
  30. pouch
  31. pelvic
  32. leakage
  33. point
  34. muscles
  35. forcing
  36. withstand
  37. sealed

Original Text


It begins with a bit of discomfort and soon becomes a pressing sensation that's impossible to ignore. Finally, it's all you can think about, and out of sheer desperation, you go on a hunt for a bathroom until "ahh." Humans should urinate at least four to six times a day, but occasionally, the pressures of modern life forces us to clench and hold it in. How bad is this habit, and how long can our bodies withstand it? The answers lie in the workings of the bladder, an oval pouch that sits inside the pelvis. Surrounding this structure are several other organs that together make up the whole urinary system. Two kidneys, two ureters, two urethral sphincters, and a urethra. Constantly trickling down from the kidneys is the yellowish liquid known as urine. The kidneys make urine from a mix of water and the body's waste products, funneling the unwanted fluid into two muscular tubes called ureters. These carry it downward into the hollow organ known as the bladder. This organ's muscular wall is made of tissue called detrusor muscle which relaxes as the bladder fills allowing it to inflate like a balloon. As the bladder gets full, the detrusor contracts. The internal urethral sphincter automatically and involuntarily opens, and the urine is released. Whooshing downwards, the fluid enters the urethra and stops short at the external urethral sphincter. This works like a tap. When you want to delay urinating, you keep the sphincter closed. When you want to release it, you can voluntarily open the flood gates. But how do you sense your bladder's fullness so you know when to pee? Inside the layers of detrusor muscles are millions of stretch receptors that get triggered as the bladder fills. They send signals along your nerves to the sacral region in your spinal cord. A reflex signal travels back to your bladder, making the detrusor muscle contract slightly and increasing the bladder's pressure so you're aware that it's filling up. Simultaneously, the internal urethral sphincter opens. This is called the micturition reflex. The brain can counter it if it's not a good time to urinate by sending another signal to contract the external urethral sphincter. With about 150 to 200 milliliters of urine inside of it, the bladder's muscular wall is stretched enough for you to sense that there's urine within. At about 400 to 500 milliliters, the pressure becomes uncomfortable. The bladder can go on stretching, but only to a point. Above 1,000 milliliters, it may burst. Most people would lose bladder control before this happens, but in very rare cases, such as when as a person can't sense the need to urinate, the pouch can rupture painfully requiring surgery to fix. But under normal circumstances, your decision to urinate stops the brain's signal to the external urethral sphincter, causing it to relax and the bladder to empty. The external urethral sphincter is one of the muscles of the pelvic floor, and it provides support to the urethra and bladder neck. It's lucky we have these pelvic floor muscles because placing pressure on the system by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or jumping could cause bladder leakage. Instead, the pelvic floor muscles keep the region sealed until you're ready to go. But holding it in for too long, forcing out your urine too fast, or urinating without proper physical support may over time weaken or overwork that muscular sling. That can lead to an overactive pelvic floor, bladder pain, urgency, or urinary incontinence. So in the interest of long-term health, it's not a great habit to hold your pee. But in the short term, at least, your body and brain have got you covered, so you can conveniently choose your moment of sweet release.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
urethral sphincter 5
external urethral 4
muscular wall 2
detrusor muscle 2
bladder fills 2
internal urethral 2
pelvic floor 2
floor muscles 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
external urethral sphincter 3
internal urethral sphincter 2
pelvic floor muscles 2

Important Words


  1. allowing
  2. answers
  3. automatically
  4. aware
  5. bad
  6. balloon
  7. bathroom
  8. begins
  9. bit
  10. bladder
  11. bodies
  12. body
  13. brain
  14. burst
  15. called
  16. carry
  17. cases
  18. causing
  19. choose
  20. circumstances
  21. clench
  22. closed
  23. constantly
  24. contract
  25. contracts
  26. control
  27. conveniently
  28. cord
  29. coughing
  30. counter
  31. covered
  32. day
  33. decision
  34. delay
  35. desperation
  36. detrusor
  37. discomfort
  38. downward
  39. empty
  40. enters
  41. external
  42. fast
  43. filling
  44. fills
  45. finally
  46. fix
  47. flood
  48. floor
  49. fluid
  50. forces
  51. forcing
  52. full
  53. fullness
  54. funneling
  55. gates
  56. good
  57. great
  58. habit
  59. health
  60. hold
  61. holding
  62. hollow
  63. humans
  64. hunt
  65. ignore
  66. impossible
  67. incontinence
  68. increasing
  69. inflate
  70. interest
  71. internal
  72. involuntarily
  73. jumping
  74. kidneys
  75. laughing
  76. layers
  77. lead
  78. leakage
  79. lie
  80. life
  81. liquid
  82. long
  83. lose
  84. lucky
  85. making
  86. micturition
  87. milliliters
  88. millions
  89. mix
  90. modern
  91. moment
  92. muscle
  93. muscles
  94. muscular
  95. neck
  96. nerves
  97. normal
  98. occasionally
  99. open
  100. opens
  101. organ
  102. organs
  103. oval
  104. overactive
  105. overwork
  106. pain
  107. painfully
  108. pee
  109. pelvic
  110. pelvis
  111. people
  112. person
  113. physical
  114. placing
  115. point
  116. pouch
  117. pressing
  118. pressure
  119. pressures
  120. products
  121. proper
  122. rare
  123. ready
  124. receptors
  125. reflex
  126. region
  127. relax
  128. relaxes
  129. release
  130. released
  131. requiring
  132. rupture
  133. sacral
  134. sealed
  135. send
  136. sending
  137. sensation
  138. sense
  139. sheer
  140. short
  141. signal
  142. signals
  143. simultaneously
  144. sits
  145. slightly
  146. sling
  147. sneezing
  148. sphincter
  149. sphincters
  150. spinal
  151. stops
  152. stretch
  153. stretched
  154. stretching
  155. structure
  156. support
  157. surgery
  158. surrounding
  159. sweet
  160. system
  161. tap
  162. term
  163. time
  164. times
  165. tissue
  166. travels
  167. trickling
  168. triggered
  169. tubes
  170. uncomfortable
  171. unwanted
  172. ureters
  173. urethra
  174. urethral
  175. urgency
  176. urinary
  177. urinate
  178. urinating
  179. urine
  180. voluntarily
  181. wall
  182. waste
  183. water
  184. weaken
  185. whooshing
  186. withstand
  187. workings
  188. works
  189. yellowish