5.1.2 (c) the Kidney Flashcards
what 2 homeostatic roles do the kidneys play in the body?
excretion
osmoregulation
how are the kidneys involved in excretion?
they filter nitrogenous waste out of the blood
how are the kidneys involved in osmoregulation?
by helping maintain water balance and the pH of the blood
what vessel carries blood into the kidneys?
the renal arteries which branch off of the aorta
which vessel carries blood out of the kidneys?
renal vein which drains into the vena cava
what are the kidneys composed of?
nephrons which are filtering units
what liquid is produced by the kidney tubules?
urine
what does the urine leave the kidney in?
the ureter
what does the ureter lead to?
the bladder
how does urine leave the bladder?
through the urethra and out of the body
what are the 3 main areas of the kidney?
cortex
medulla
pelvis
what happens in the kidney cortex?
site of ultrafiltration
what happens in the kidney medulla?
selective reabsorption and osmoregulation
what happens in the kidney pelvis?
where the urine collects and then passed into the ureter
what are the 5 regions of a nephron?
bowman’s capsule
proximal convoluted tubule
loop of Henle
distal convoluted tubule
collecting duct
what is the bowman’s capsule?
contains the glomerulus which is where ultrafiltration takes place
what is the proximal convoluted tubule?
coiled region following the bowman’s capsule where selective reabsorption begins
what is the loop of Henle?
long loop with an ascending and descending loop where selective reabsorption takes place
what is the distal convoluted tubule?
second coiled region following the loop of Henle where osmoregulation occurs with its wall’s permeability affected by ADH levels
what is the collecting duct?
moves urine down the medulla and into the pelvis as well as more osmoregulation
what are the 3 functions of the nephrons?
ultrafiltration
selective reabsorption
osmoregulation