Micturition Vs. Urination

Micturition and urination are medical terms that are often used to describe the same process of eliminating waste from the body. There are several differences between these two terms, however. While one is used to describe an urge to perform an action, the other is technically used to describe the action itself.

History

• While both micturition and urination come from Latin roots, they do not come from the same word. Micturition derived from the word "micturire." Urination came from the Medieval Latin term "urinare."

Meaning

• "Micturire" meant "to want to urinate." This means that originally the word "micturition" described the desire to urinate, instead of the direct action. "Urination" describes the actual process of urinating.

Process

• Urinating is the process a body undertakes to eliminate urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. There are several words that can be found in the medical world to name this process, such as emiction, miction, uresis and micturition.

Usage

• Urination is a much more common word used to describe the act of urinating. Because of its similarity to the word "urine," it can be easier for those not in the medical field to remember. Micturition can be found in medical articles, textbooks and journals, but is not used as much in popular culture such as magazines, novels and television shows.

Health Problems

• There are several health problems suffered by aging men and women that use the word micturition in their names. These include Micturition syncope and micturition dribble. You are more likely to find the word urine used in conjunction with another word to describe a disease or disorder, instead of the word urination.