introduction to the kidney : regulation of Na and glucose Flashcards
what are functions of the kidney?
- maintenance of extracellular fluid volume (ECFV) — Na and H2O
- acid-base balance
- excretion of metabolic waste — urea, creatinine (+ byproducts of drug metabolism)
- endocrine secretion — RAAS, erythropoietin, vitamin D
what are 3 functions of the nephron?
- filtration
- selective reabsorption
- secretion
what happens at the PCT?
reabsorption of water, ions and all organic nutrients
what happens at the loop of Henle?
further reabsorption of water (descending limb) and both Na and Cl (ascneding limb)
what happens in the DCT?
- secretion of ions, acids, drugs, toxins
- variable reabsorption of water, sodium ions, calcium ions (under hormonal control)
what happens at the collecting duct?
variable reabsorption of water and reabsorption or secretion of sodium, potassium, hydrogen, and bicarbonate ions
blood supply order in kidney
renal artery —> segmental artery —> interlobar —> arcuate —> interlobular —> afferent arteriole
what is the name of the capillary network surrounding the nephrons?
vasa recta
what is cardiac output at rest?
average of 5 litres per min
describe renal blood flow
kidneys receive 20% of CO — 1 litre/min
RBF 10-50 x other organs
RBF exceeds O2 requirements of kidneys
RBF not regulated metabolically
blood enters the glomerulus through what?
afferent arteriole
name the highly specialized cells of the kidney glomerulus that wrap around capillaries and that neighbour cells of the Bowman’s capsule
podocytes = part of filtration barrier — stop larger molecules from leaving blood and entering tubular fluid — cut off point is size of albumin
anything small enough being filtered by the glomerulus must enter what before the PCT?
Bowmann’s space
remaining blood leaves the glomerulus via what?
efferent arteriole
what does the glomerulus provide?
size AND charge barrier
- the podocytes and the ECM they produce, and the basement membrane contain a -ve charge to help repel negatively charged ions and molecules
what cells line the DCT?
macula densa
equation for GFR
GFR = Kf x [Pgc - (Pbc + pi gc)]
Kf = filtration coefficient
Pgc = glomerular capillary hydrostatic pressure
Pbc = Bowman’s capsule hydrostatic pressure
pi gc = glomerular capillary oncotic pressure
in the GFR equation, which parts favour filtration and which oppose filtration?
- glomerular capillary hydrostatic pressure FAVOURS filtration (ie. favours the movement of fluid out of blood/plasma into tubule)
- bowman’s capsule hydrostatic pressure and glomerular capillary oncotic pressure OPPOSE filtration
what is oncotic pressure?
osmotic pressure specifically due to proteins
proteins stay in blood — therefore oncotic pressure increases in the capillary as water is lost — attractive force which opposes filtration as it attracts water back into the capillary
why is there no Bowman’s capsule oncotic pressure component in the GFR equation?
it is 0 as there is no filtration of proteins
how much plasma do we filter a day?
180 L/day
what is autoregulation?
maintenance of RBF and GFR despite changes in systemic pressure
- sleep
- exercise
- chronic disease eg. hypertension, renal artery stenosis
what do these graphs show? (auto regulation)
shows that when BP increases, the vascular resistance of the afferent arteriole increases too — this maintains the RBF and GFR
what are 2 mechanisms of autoregulation?
- myogenic — vascular smooth msucle responds to stretch by vasocontricting
- tubuloglomerular feedback — distal tubular flow regulates vasoconstriction
what is the macula densa?
a collection of densely packed epithelial cells at the junction of the thick ascending limb and DCT
the macula densa uses the composition of the tubular fluid as an indicator of what?
GFR
a large vs low NaCl conc indicates what sort of GFR?
large NaCl conc = elevated GFR
low NaCl conc = depressed GFR