Kidney and Urinary EXAM III Flashcards
Where are the kidneys located?
retroperitoneal (towards the back)
located at the level of the 2nd to 4th lumbar vertebrae.
Describe the blood supply to and from the kidneys.
the renal arters are specific branches off of the abdominal aorta.
The renal veins go to the inferior vena cava.
Describe the weight of the kidney.
1% of the total body weight.
How much cardiac output does the kidney receive?
20-25%
What is the kidney covered by?
a fibrous capsule.
What is the hilus?
The location where the renal artery, renal vein, and ureter attach.
What is the renal cortex?
the outer layer of the kidney
What is the renal medulla?
the inner layer of the kidney made up of renal pyramids.
What is a nephron?
the function unit of the kidney. The smallest unit of the kidney that contains function.
What is the glomerulus?
a ball shaped capillary bed located in the renal cortex.
What are afferent arterioles?
bring blood into the kidneys, an dinto the glomerulus.
What are efferent arterioles?
carries blood away from the glomerulus, yet parallels the tubular system.
What is filtrate?
not urine, can still be modified.
Becomes urine once it enters the renal pelvis.
What does dilation of afferent arteriole cause?
increased volume in glomerulus–>increased hydrostatic pressure–>filtration.
What are peritubular capillaries?
tiny blood vessels that travel alongside nephrons allowing reabsorption and secretion between blood and the inner lumen of the nephron.
In medullary nephrons, what are the peritubular capillaries called?
vasa recta.
What does the Bowman’s capsule allow for?
increased SA.
Describe the anatomy of bowman’s capsule.
surrounds the glomerulus.
has podocytes that wrap around the glomerulus
between the capillaries and podocytes is a basement membrane.
the spaces between the podocytes form the filtration slits.
the glomerular endothelium has extensive pores.
What is the proximal tubule?
carries glomerular filtrate away from the glomerulus.
What is the difference between juxtamedullary nephron and cortical nephrons?
the cortical nephrons only slightly enter the medulla, whereas juxtamedullary nephrons plunge into the medulla in order to be able to concentrate urine.
What percentage of nephrons are juxtamedullary?
20%
Where does the ascending limb of the loop of henle travel?
back up towards the cortex.
What percentage of nephrons are cortical?
80%
What are medullary pyramids composed of?
juxtamedullary loops of Henle and collecting ducts.
What do corticol nephrons function for?
not used to concentrate urine, help with solute movement and retention.
What is the function of the distal tubule?
receives filtrate from the loop of henle
what is the function of the collecting ducts?
to transport filtrate to the renal pelvis.
What does it mean that the endothelium of glomerular capillaries is fenestrated?
has holes or pores.
Describe the basement membrane.
noncellular–has a slight negative charge. This charge repels large, negatively charged protein molecules and prevents their loss in the urine.
What is the function of podocytes?
to form filtration slits that help control the size of the particles that can escape from circulation to the filtrate.
Describe the permeability of the filtration slits.
100X more permeable to water than other capillaries.
Describew glomerular capillary blood pressure.
favors filtration
55mmHg.
Describe plasma-colloid osmotic pressure
opposes filtration
30mmHG.
Describe Bowman’s capsule hydrostatic pressure.
opposes filtration.
15mmHg.
a fluid pressure that is formed by the fluid as it resists flowing through the rest of the nephron.
Describe net flitration pressure.
the sum of the pressures: 50- (30+15)=10mmHg, therefore inward movement is favored from the capillaries into the Bowman’s capsule.
What is the equation for glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
Kf*net flitration pressure=GFR
What is Kf?
the filtration coefficient. Describes how filterable something is.
What factors influence how filterable something is?
size, surface area, solubility.
What percentage of cardiac output goes to the kidneys each minute?
22%.
How much filtrate is formed each day in males and females?
180L in males.
160L in females.
How does vasoconstriction affect GFR?
decreases GFR
How does vasodilation affect GfR?
increases GFR
What are the average GFRs in males and females?
125ml/min in males
115ml/min in females.
How much urine is produced each minute?
1mL this is called obligatory water loss.
What is autoregulation of the kidneys?
maintenance of a constant blood pressure in the afferent arteriole by either reflex dilation in the case of pressure loss or reflex constriction in the case of increased pressure.
What is the myogenic mechanism?
smooth muscle in the wall of the afferent arteriole responds to stretch by contracting. This is intrinsic control.
In the myogenic mechanism, if pressure increases, the smooth muscle…
contracts decreasing the flow of blood.
In the myogenic mechanism, if pressure decreases, the smooth muscle….
relaxes increasing flow.
What is the tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism?
involves the juxtaglomerular apparatus.
specialized cells of the distal tubule called the macula densa monitor the rate at which filtrate is flowing via the salt content of the filtrate.
What are the components of the juxtaglomerular apparatus?
- macula densa: tubular cells of the distal tubule that have salt sensors.
- granular cells: special vascular cells at the afferent arteriorle. Have granules of renin.
Describe what occurs if there is a decrease in GFR.
decrease in filtrate flow in the loop of henle.
increase in the NaCl reabsorption in the ascending limb.
Decrease in NaCl in the filtrate at the distal convoluted tubule, sensed by the macula densa cells.
Stimulation of vasodilation of afferent arteriole.
Increase in hydrostatic pressure in glomerulus
Increase in GFR.
How do macula densa cells respond to a decrease in GFR?
stimulate vasodilation of afferent arteriole.
also stimulate Renin which leads to production of angiotensin II which causes vasoconstriction of the efferent arteriole which also increases hydrostatic pressure in glomerulus leading to an increase in GFr.
How does the extrinsic sympathetic system respond to decreases in blood volume?
increased sympathetic stimulation will decrease urine production. this is accomplished by arteriolar constriction.
Helps to retain fluid to increase blood volume (prohibiting loss of fluid in the urine).
Describe extrinsic alteration of the filtration coefficient.
occurs at the mesangial cells, which hold the glomerular capillary in position.
contraction of the mesangial cells can close off portions of the glomerulus, decreasing surface area and filtration.
What controls filtration slits?
contractile elements in the podocytes that can either enlarge or narrow the filtration pore, depending on the need.
What does filtration remove?
all constituents from the plasma except for cells and proteins. Loss of nutrients in the urine would be bad.
What is transepithelial transport?
places reabsorbed compounds back into the peritubular capillaries.
gaps filled with interstitial fluid between the tubules and capillaries must be cross and are called lateral spaces.
tight junction between the cells of the tubules prevent diffusion between the cells, requiring any reabsorbed materials to pass through the cells themselves.
what are the barriers involved in tubular reabsorption?
- membrane of the tubular epithelial cell in the lumen of the tubule.
- cytosol of the tubular cell.
- membrane of the tubular epithelial cell on the side of the lateral spaces.
- interstitial fluid in the lateral space.
- capillary wall.
What are the types of transport in the kidneys?
active and passive depending on the substance being transported.