3 - Renal Physiology I Flashcards
What are the functions of the kidney?
Every thirty minutes, the kidneys filter the entire blood supply in your body (blood flow about 20% of cardiac output)
- Excretion of metabolic waste products and foreign substances
- Regulation of body fluids and electrolytes balance, acid-base balance and arterial blood pressure
- Elaboration of endocrine hormones
- Gluconeogenesis
Describe the excretion of metabolic waste products and foreign substances
Urea (protein metabolism), Uric acid (nucleic acid), creatinine (muscle creatine), chemicals and pesticides, etc.
Describe the elaboration of endocrine hormones
Secretion, metabolism and excretion of hormones [erythropoietin, 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (vitamin D activation), renin]
Describe the function of gluconeogenesis
Most gluconeogenesis take place in the liver but a large proportion takes place in the kidneys especially during a long fast.
Describe the “system approach” to kidney function (how does it contribute to the body as a system?)
Kidney’s relationship to extrarenal environment (the rest of the body)…
Excretion of:
- Metabolic waste products
- Foreign substances
Adjustment of:
- Fluid volume
- Solute concentration
Elaboration of endocrine hormones
Gluconeogenesis
Describe the role of the body in signaling the kidney in this “system approach” to kidney function
- Blood pressure and volume
- Plasma composition
- Neuroendocrine
Describe the intrarenal processes of the “system approach” (does not interact with the body, is just the kidney’s own functions)
Basic kidney process
Local control:
- Renal auto-regulation
- Autocrine/paracrine systems
Describe the basic physiological anatomy of the kidney
The two kidneys lie on the posterior wall of the abdomen
The ureter carries the final urine from the kidney to the bladder
In a bisected kidney, from
top to the bottom, the two major regions visualized are the cortex (outer region) and medulla (inner region)
The medulla is divided in multiple cone-shaped masses of tissue called renal pyramids
The base of each pyramid terminates in the papilla, which projects into the space of the renal pelvis
Describe the basic tubular segments of the nephron
- Each kidney in the human contains about 1 million
of nephrons - The nephron is the functional
unit of the kidney - Each nephron contains a
glomerulus and long tubule - The glomerulus contains a
collection of capillary (glomerular
capillary), through which large
amount of fluid is filtered from the blood - The glomerulus is incased in the Bowman’s capsule
Describe the structure of the glomerulus
The glomerular capillary membrane is similar to that of other capillaries, except that it has three (instead of the usual two) major layers:
- Endothelium of the capillary
- A basement membrane
- A layer of epithelial cell (podocytes)
What do these layers of the glomerulus make up?
These layers make up the filtration barrier which filters fluid and solute with high filtration rate
Describe the filtration rate across the glomerular capillary
The high filtration rate across the glomerular capillary is supported by:
- The perforation of the endothelium (fenestrae)
- Meshwork of the basement membrane
- The long foot-like processes of the podocytes
Describe where the fluid goes after it is filtered in the glomerular capillaries
Fluid filtered from the glomerular capillaries flows into the Bowman’s capsule and, then, into the renal tubule
What happens in the renal tubule?
The tubule is where the filtered fluid is converted in urine
What are all the segments of the renal tubule?
- Proximal Tubule
- Loop of Henle
- Distal Tubule
- Connecting Tubule
- Collecting Tubule
- Collecting Duct
Describe the vasculature in kidney
- The renal artery enters the kidney and, then, branches progressively
- The venous system run parallel to the arteriolar vessels
- The vascular structures supplying the juxtamedullary nephron differ from those supply the cortical nephrons
What are the regional differences we see in nephron types?
There are two types of nephrons
- Cortical nephrons
- Juxtamedually nephrons
Describe cortical nephrons
Nephrons that have glomeruli located in the outer cortex and short Loop of Henle