Compendium 7. Toxic Waste

Question 1

What is the right kidney slightly lower than the left kidney?

Answer 1

To make room for the liver

Question 2

What is the renal capsule?

Answer 2

The fibrous connective tissue surrounding each kidney

Question 3

What is the purpose of adipose tissue (within the kidneys?)

Answer 3

Engulfs the renal capsule and acts as cushioning

Question 4

What is the purpose of the renal fascia?

Answer 4

The thin layer of loose connective tissue, which anchors the kidneys to the posterior wall

Question 5

What is the hilum?

Answer 5

The small area in which the blood supply and nerves flow into the kidneys

Question 6

What are ureters?

Answer 6

The tubes in which urine travels from the kidneys through to the bladder

Question 7

What is the nephron and what are their main roles?

Answer 7

The functional, microscopic unit of the kidney

1. Filter blood
2. Produce urine

Question 8

Describe the steps that are involved in producing urine within the nephron

Answer 8

1. Blood flows into the renal corpuscle
2. Everything small enough to pass through the capillaries will become the filtrate
3. The filtrate will move through the proximal convoluted tubule (where most reabsorption occurs)
4. The filtrate will move through the loop of henle (where the reabsorption of water and sodium chloride occurs)
5. The filtrate will move through the proximal convoluted tubule (where the reabsorption of glucose and the filtration of potassium occurs)
6. The filtrate will then move through the collecting duct

Question 9

List the pathway of urine through the kidney

Answer 9

1. Nephron
2. Papillary ducts
3. Minor calyces
4. Major calyces
5. Renal pelvis
6. Ureter

Question 10

What are the 2 types of nephrons?

Answer 10

1. Juxtamedullary nephrons
   - The renal corpuscle is located near the medulla
   - The loops of henle are often long and extend deep into the medulla
2. Cortical nephrons
   - The renal corpuscle is located near the periphery cortex
   - The loops of henle do not extend deep into the medulla

Question 11

What makes up the renal corpuscle?

Answer 11

• The bowman’s / glomerular capsule
• The glomerulus (the network of blood capillaries within the bowman’s capsule)
• The afferent arteriole
• The efferent arteriole

Question 12

How does fluid leave the capillaries and enter the glomerulus? (hint 3 steps)

Answer 12

1. Fenestrae : small openings in the capillaries
2. Basement membrane
3. Filtration slits : gaps between podocytes

Question 13

What are podocytes?

Answer 13

Specialised cells that wrap around the glomerular capillaries

Question 14

What are the capillaries called that form a network around the tubules of the nephron?

Answer 14

Peritubular capillaries

Question 15

What is the trigone?

Answer 15

The triangular area where the two ureters and the urethra connect to the bladder

Question 16

What is the function of the urethra?

Answer 16

To transport urine from the bladder to the outside of the body

Question 17

What is the internal urinary sphincter?

Answer 17

The elastic connective tissue and smooth muscle that prevent urine from continuously flowing out of the bladder

Question 18

What is the external urinary sphincter

Answer 18

The skeletal muscle that surrounds the urethra as it extends through the pelvic floor

Question 19

How much urine can a bladder hold before it is stimulated to trigger urination?

Answer 19

500mls

Question 20

What is the average amount of urine produced a day?

Answer 20

1-2L

Question 21

What are the 3 stages or urine production?

Answer 21

1. filtration
2. tubular reabsorption
3. tubular secretion

Question 22

What is the glomerular filtration rate?

Answer 22

The amount of filtrate produced each minute

Question 23

What do antidiuretic hormones do?

Answer 23

Make the tubule walls more permeable to water and tell the kidneys to preserve water

Question 24

What aids in the movement of urine? (hint 3 things)

Answer 24

• Hydrostatic pressure (forces urine through the nephron)
• Peristalsis
• Micturition (The process of urine being excreted out of the body)