AAP Urinary System Flashcards
What does the urinary system consist of?
- paired kidneys
- paired ureters
- urinary bladder
- urethra
Where are the kidneys located?
- dorsal abdominal area
- between peritoneum and muscles at the back (outside the peritoneal cavity)
- right kidney is more cranial than the left in most domestic animals (except the pig)
What kind of shape do the kidneys possess?
- bean-shaped structure in most domestic animals
except in cattle –> lobulated structures
What surrounds the kidneys and what is its function?
- thick peri-renal fat
- to protect the kidneys from the pressures exerted by surrounding organs
What is the immediate surface of kidneys covered with?
- peritoneum
What is the hilus?
- indented area in the medial side
- at the hilus, ureters, nerves, blood and lymph vessels enter and leave the kidney
What is the renal pelvis?
- funnel-shaped area
- forms the beginning of the ureter
What is the renal cortex?
- outer portion of the kidney
What is the renal medulla?
- inner portion around the renal pelvis
- very dark red in colour in real life
What is the basic functional unit of the kidneys called?
Nephron
What does the nephron consist of?
- renal corpuscle
- proximal convoluted tubule (PCT)
- loop of Henle
- distal convoluted tubule (DCT)
What is the function of the renal corpuscle?
- filters blood in the first stage of urine formation
- fluid filtered out of the blood is known as the glomerular filtrate
What is the renal corpuscle made up of?
- glomerulus (cluster of capillaries for blood filtration)
- Bowman’s capsule (wraps around the glomerulus)
- Capsular space (space inside the capsule –> between the Bowman’s capsule and Glomerulus)
What is the proximal convoluted tubule?
- continuation of the capsular space
- twist and path through the cortex
- glomerular filtrate enters PCT to become tubular filtrate
What is the loop of Henle?
- long, U-shaped portion of the tubule
- descends from the PCT into medulla (descending LOH)
- turning and heading upward back into cortex (ascending LOH)
What is the distal convoluted tubule?
- continuation of ascending LOH
- DCT from all nephrons empty into collecting ducts
- Collecting ducts carry tubular filtrate through the medulla and empty into the renal pelvis
- primary site of action of ADH (antidiuretic hormone)
What is the function of afferent glomerular arterioles?
- carries blood into the glomerular capillaries of renal corpuscle
What is the function of the glomerular capillaries?
- filter some of the plasma out of the blood and into the capsular space of Bowman’s capsule
What is the function of efferent glomerular arterioles?
- receive blood from glomerular capillaries
What processes occur in the peritubular capillaries?
- oxygen supply to tubules
- tubular reabsorption
- tubular secretion
What happens when efferent glomerular arterioles divide further?
- form the peritubular capillaries
- which are the small capillaries surrounding the tubules
The peritubular capillaries converge to form?
- form larger veins
- and eventually the renal vein
- renal vein leaves the kidney at the hilus and joins the caudal vena cava
Revise identifying the different parts of the kidney on Anki !
done !
