Glomerular Filtration Flashcards
What are the basic renal processes?
Filtration
Reabsorption
Excretion
What is filtration?
- The formation at the glomerular capillaries of an essentially protein-free filtrate of plasma (20% of total plasma volume)
What percentage of total plasma volume is the filtrate?
20%
What is GFR/day?
180L/day
What is the advantage of GFR being so high (180L/day)?
Allows kidneys to regulate ECF volume and composition and eliminate any ‘nasty’ substances
What is reabsorption?
- Substances that the body wants are reabsorbed, those that it doesn’t want stay in the tubule and are excreted
What is secretion?
Substances may be specifically removed from the body in this way
What blood flow does the kidney receive in ml/min?
About 1200ml/min
What percentage of cardiac output (CO) does the kidneys recieve?
20-25%
What does CO stand for?
Cardiac output
Explain how the kidneys have almost the highest Blood flow/g tissue of any tissue in the body?
They weight less than 1% of body weight (BW) but recieve 20-25% of cardiac output (CO)
What does BW stand for?
Body weight
What are examples of things that are not affected by filtration into the Bowman’s capsule and carry on to the efferent arterioles into the peritubular capillaries then renal vein?
None of RBCs and only a fraction of plasma
Where do red blood cells go onces they pass by the Bowman’s capsule via the afferent arteriole?
Efferent arterioles -> peritubular capillaries -> renal vein
What does BV stand for?
Blood volume
What percentage of blood volume does plasma account for?
About 55%
What is the renal plasma flow in ml/min?
660ml (55% of 1200ml)
What is normal GFR in ml/min?
125ml/min
What is the filtration fraction?
Amount of renal plasma that becomes glomerular filtrate on passing by
125 (normal GFR) / 660 (normal renal plasma flow x 100 = 19%
Glomerular filtration works the exact same way as fluid filteres out of any capillary bed in the body, what does this mean?
Depends on balance between hydrostatic forces favouring filtration and the oncotic pressure forces favouring reabsorption (Starling’s forces)