Compendium 7. Toxic Waste Flashcards
What is the right kidney slightly lower than the left kidney?
To make room for the liver
What is the renal capsule?
The fibrous connective tissue surrounding each kidney
What is the purpose of adipose tissue (within the kidneys?)
Engulfs the renal capsule and acts as cushioning
What is the purpose of the renal fascia?
The thin layer of loose connective tissue, which anchors the kidneys to the posterior wall
What is the hilum?
The small area in which the blood supply and nerves flow into the kidneys
What are ureters?
The tubes in which urine travels from the kidneys through to the bladder
What is the nephron and what are their main roles?
The functional, microscopic unit of the kidney
- Filter blood
- Produce urine
Describe the steps that are involved in producing urine within the nephron
- Blood flows into the renal corpuscle
- Everything small enough to pass through the capillaries will become the filtrate
- The filtrate will move through the proximal convoluted tubule (where most reabsorption occurs)
- The filtrate will move through the loop of henle (where the reabsorption of water and sodium chloride occurs)
- The filtrate will move through the proximal convoluted tubule (where the reabsorption of glucose and the filtration of potassium occurs)
- The filtrate will then move through the collecting duct
List the pathway of urine through the kidney
- Nephron
- Papillary ducts
- Minor calyces
- Major calyces
- Renal pelvis
- Ureter
What are the 2 types of nephrons?
- Juxtamedullary nephrons
- The renal corpuscle is located near the medulla
- The loops of henle are often long and extend deep into the medulla - Cortical nephrons
- The renal corpuscle is located near the periphery cortex
- The loops of henle do not extend deep into the medulla
What makes up the renal corpuscle?
- The bowman’s / glomerular capsule
- The glomerulus (the network of blood capillaries within the bowman’s capsule)
- The afferent arteriole
- The efferent arteriole
How does fluid leave the capillaries and enter the glomerulus? (hint 3 steps)
- Fenestrae : small openings in the capillaries
- Basement membrane
- Filtration slits : gaps between podocytes
What are podocytes?
Specialised cells that wrap around the glomerular capillaries
What are the capillaries called that form a network around the tubules of the nephron?
Peritubular capillaries
What is the trigone?
The triangular area where the two ureters and the urethra connect to the bladder
What is the function of the urethra?
To transport urine from the bladder to the outside of the body
What is the internal urinary sphincter?
The elastic connective tissue and smooth muscle that prevent urine from continuously flowing out of the bladder
What is the external urinary sphincter
The skeletal muscle that surrounds the urethra as it extends through the pelvic floor
How much urine can a bladder hold before it is stimulated to trigger urination?
500mls
What is the average amount of urine produced a day?
1-2L
What are the 3 stages or urine production?
- filtration
- tubular reabsorption
- tubular secretion
What is the glomerular filtration rate?
The amount of filtrate produced each minute
What do antidiuretic hormones do?
Make the tubule walls more permeable to water and tell the kidneys to preserve water
What aids in the movement of urine? (hint 3 things)
- Hydrostatic pressure (forces urine through the nephron)
- Peristalsis
- Micturition (The process of urine being excreted out of the body)
