Homeostasis and the kidney Flashcards
homeostasis definition
the maintenance/control of an internal environment at a constant/set point by negative feedback
what internal factors may change due to changes in our activity or external environment
- core body temp
- pH
- blood glucose conc
- blood solute potential
- water potential
describe dynamic equilibrium
constant changes occur, but corrective mechanisms bring the internal environmental conditions back towards a set point
what does negative feedback do
restores conditions back to their set point when there is a deviation
describe the negative feedback loop
- receptor detects a deviation from set point in internal environment
- receptor sends instructions to co-ordinator
- co-ordinator communicates with effectors which make corrective responses
- factor returns to normal (set point)
- receptor feeds info back to effectors which stop making the correction
examples of effectors
muscle or gland
positive feedback
effector increases change (causes further movement away from the norm)
4 excretory organs
- lungs
- kidneys
- skin
- liver
2 functions of the kidney and brief descriptions of them
excretion = removal of nitrogenous waste from body
osmoregulation = control of water potential of the body’s fluids
what happens in the medulla
reabsorption of water
what happens in the cortex
ultrafiltration and selective reabsorption
how is urea formed
- excess aa’s deaminated in liver
- amino group removed and converted into ammonia and then to urea
what is the nephron?
functional unit of the kidney which filters blood
what is the vasa recta?
a capillary network surrounding the loop of Henle
what is ultrafiltration?
filtration under high pressure
Blood enters capillaries of glomerulus from afferent arteriole and leaves via efferent. Blood has high hydrostatic pressure because :
- heart’s contraction increases pressure of arterial blood
- afferent has wider diameter than efferent