A2 CH12 Homeostasis and the kidney Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
The maintenance of the internal environment within tolerable limits
How does the body accomplish homeostasis?
The body uses negative feedback to accomplish homeostasis
What is negative feedback?
When a change in the system produces a second change, which reverses the first change
How does negative feedback work?
- There is a change from the set point which is the input
- A receptor detects the change from the set point and sends instructions to a coordinator or controller
- A Coordinator detects signals from the receptors and coordinates a response via effectors
- An effector bring about changes to the system in order to return it to the set point
- The output brings the change back to the set point, and it monitored by the receptor and information is bed back to the effectors which stop making the correction
How does glucose concentration in the plasma use negative feedback?
- If glucose concentration increases above the set point, insulin is secreted
- The insulin reduces the glucose concentration by converting it to glycogen and increasing the rate at which it is respired
- If glucose concentration falls below the set point, glucagon is secreted
- The secretion of glucagon results in glycogen being converted into glucose
What does the body do when glucose concentration increases?
It secretes insulin
How does insulin decreases glucose concentration?
Insulin converts glucose to glycogen and increases the rate at which it is respired
What does the body do when glucose concentration falls below the set point?
The body secretes glucagon
How does glucagon increase glucose concentrations?
Glucagon results in glycogen being converted into glucose
How does the use negative feedback to maintain the body’s temperature?
- If the body’s temperature falls below the set point, increased respiration generates heat, and the constriction of blood vessels near the skin’s surface reduce heat loss
- If the body’s temperature rises above the set point, blood vessels near the skin’s surface dilate, and heat radiates from the body, reducing its temperature
What does the body do when the body’s temperature falls below the set point?
- the body increases respiration to generate heat
- Blood vessels near the skin’s surface constrict to reduce heat loss
What does the body do when the temperature rises above the set point?
The blood vessels near the skin’s surface dilate, and heat radiates from the body, reducing its temperature
How does positive feedback work with oxytocin at the end of pregnancy?
Oxytocin stimulates the contraction of the uterus at the end of pregnancy. The contractions stimulate the production of more oxytocin
How does positive feedback work when there is a cut in the skin?
When the skin is cut, platelets move to the cuts surface which secrete signaling molecules that attract more platelets to the cuts surface
What is excretion?
The removal of metabolic waste made by the body
What is excreted from respiration?
Carbon dioxide and water
What is excreted from the deamination of excess amino acids?
Urea
What are the 2 main functions of the kidney?
- Excretion
2. Osmoregulation
What is osmoregulation?
The control of the water potential of the body’s fluids by the regulation of the water content of the body
How is urea produced?
- Protein is digested into amino acids, which are transported to the liver and then around the body
- Excess amino acids are deaminated (removal of an amine group / NH2 group) in the liver and the amino group is converted into urea
- Urea is carried in the plasma to the kidneys and excreted as urine
What are kidneys covered by?
The renal capsule
Where does the kidney receive blood from?
The renal artery
From the kidney, where does blood return back to the general circulation system?
The renal vein
Where does the blood from the renal artery go?
It is filtered at the cortex in the bowman’s capsule
What structures of the nephron does the medulla contain?
The loop of Henle and the collecting ducts
Where does the collecting duct carry urine to?
The pelvis, then the ureter, then to the bladder
What is the structure of the kidney nephron?
- There are many kidney nephrons and they are long providing a large area for exchange
- There is an afferent arteriole which is a branch of the renal artery bring blood to the nephron which divides into many capillaries in the glomerulus (enclosed by the bowman’s capsule)
- The filtered blood is carried by the efferent arteriole to a capillary network surround the proximal and distal convoluted tubules, and the vasa recta which is a capillary network surround the loop of Henle
What is the vasa recta?
The capillary network surrounding the loop of Henle
What is ultrafiltration?
Filtration under high pressure
Where does ultrafiltration occur?
Occurs in the bowman’s capsule where small molecules including water and urea are removed from the blood
Where does the blood at the capillaries of the glomerulus come from?
The afferent arteriole
Why do the capillaries of the Bowman’s capsule have a high pressure?
- The heart’s contraction increases the pressure of arterial blood
- The afferent arteriole has a wider diameter than the efferent arteriole
What is the blood entering the glomerulus and the bowman’s capsule separated by?
The bowman’s space
What is the bowman’s space comprised of?
- Single layered capillary epithelium which has spores called fenestrae
- Basement membrane of the bowman’s capsule acts like a sieve between the blood and the nephron
- Wall of bowman’s capsule is made of squamous epithelial called called podocytes, filtrate passes between their branches which are called pedicels
What does the high blood pressure in the capillaries of the glomerulus do?
it forces solutes and water through the fenestrae of the capillaries, through the basement membrane, and the filtration slits between the pedicles into the cavity of the bowman’s capsule
What are the solutes and water forced into the bowman’s capsule called?
Glomerular filtrate
What does the glomerular filtrate contain?
- Water
- Glucose
- Salts
- Urea
- Amino acids
What is the maximum relative molecular mass of substances that can be forced out into the bowman’s capsule?
68000
What substance that has a relative molecular mass smaller than 68000 remain in the blood?
HCG hormone that is used to detect pregnancy
What type of substances don’t get filtered out and remain the blood?
blood cells, platelets, large proteins such as antibodies
Why does the blood that flow from the glomerulus into the efferent arteriole have a low water potential?
because water has been lost / filtered out and there is a high protein concentration remaining
What is the filtration rate?
the rate at which fluid passes from the blood in the glomerular capillaries into the bowman’s capsule
What determines the filtration rate?
the factors resisting the movement of filtrate
What is the movement of filtrate resisted by?
- Capillary epithelium
- Basement membrane
- Wall of bowman’s capsule
- Hydrostatic pressure in capsule
- Low water potential of the blood in glomerulus
What is selective reabsorption?
The uptake of specific molecules and ions from the glomerular filtrate in the nephron back into the bloodstream
Where does selective reabsorption take place? And what happens?
Occurs in the proximal convoluted tubule where useful substances such as water, glucose and amino acids and reabsorbed, but urea is not
Why is selective reabsorption important?
Glomerular filtrate contains wastes that the body needs to eliminate, but also useful molecules and ions (glucose, amino acids, sodium and chloride ions)
How are proximal convoluted tubules adapted for reabsorption?
- Cells lining the tubule have a large surface area as they have microvilli and basal channels (infoldings of the membrane in contact with the capillary)
- Large surface area as they are long and there are many nephrons in the kidney
- Many mitochondria providing ATP for active transport
- Close association with capillaries which creates a short diffusion pathway
- Tight junctions between proximal convoluted tubule cells which prevent molecules from diffusing between adjacent cells or back into the glomerular filtrate
What substances are reabsorbed into the blood during selective reabsorption?
Mineral ions, salts, glucose, amino acids, water, some urea and small proteins are reabsorbed into the blood
How are mineral ions and salts reabsorbed?
Mineral ions and salts are reabsorbed by facilitated diffusion and active transport
How are glucose and amino acids reabsorbed?
Glucose and amino acids are reabsorbed by secondary active transport using co-transport