Lecture 28: An Overview and Gross Structure of the Kidney Flashcards
What is the role of the urinary system?
To balance the water and solutes in our body
What does renal mean?
Relating to the kidneys
What does retroperitoneal mean?
the space in the abdominal cavity behind the peritoneum
Most of the water and solutes are in the _____ so the kidneys filter the _______ to make urine.
blood
blood
Making urine expels what four things from our body?
- excess water
- excess salts
- wastes of metabolism
- many toxins and drugs
What does normal urine contain?
- water
- salts
- urea
- metabolites, hormones, small proteins
Urine pH is not tightly _______ and is influenced by what?
regulated
it is influenced by what is excreted
What does abnormal urine contain?
- large proteins
- RBC
- glucose
To be effective, the urinary system needs what four things?
- a _______ system for the _______
- selective ________ system
- _____ _______ mechanism
- system to return recovered, _________ _______ to the body
- a delivery system for blood
- selective filtration system
- filtrate recovery mechanism
- system to return recovered, filtered fluid to the body
Why does the urinary system need a selective filtration system?
to stop some things from being lost
Why does the urinary system need a filtrate recovery mechanism?
to get stuff back that we don’t want to lose
To be effective, the urinary system needs to have or be able to do what four things?
- remove ______ from the body
- ______
- the ability to _______ with _______ parts of the _______
- _______ to meet the body’s changing ______
- remove filtrate from body
- protection
- the ability to communicate with relevant parts of the body
- adapt to meet the body’s changing needs
What are the main components of the urinary system?
- two kidneys
- two ureters
- urinary bladder
- urethra
Each kidney has a
ureter
What is the urethra?
The tube to remove the urine from the bladder
The structure of the kidneys allows what four things to happen?
- ______ to be brought into close proximity with the _________ for ______
- ________ that has been _______ to leave the kidney
- a pathway of urine to be ________ from the kidney, _______ and then ______
- ___________
- blood to be brought into close proximity with the nephron for filtering
- blood that has been filtered to leave the kidney
- a pathway for urine to be removed from the kidney, stored and then excreted
- protection
What is the nephron?
The functional microscopic unit of the kidneys which selectively filters and reabsorbs anything we want to keep so blood needs to be brought to the nephrons
The kidneys have two sides. What are they called?
The convex side and the concave side
Where are the kidneys located?
between the 12th thoracic rib and the 3rd lumbar rib
What ribs protect the kidneys?
11th and 12th ribs
Which side of the kidneys faces laterally?
convex
The medial surface of the kidneys has a concave notch called the _____
hilum
What enters/leaves the hilum?
renal veins renal arteries lymphatics nerves the ureter
The kidneys are surrounded, supported and protected by
fat
Which kidney is lower than the other. Why?
The right kidney is lower than the left one because the liver pushes on the right kidney
What are the three regions of the kidney?
cortex, medulla, pelvis
What is the outer surface of the kidneys?
fibrous capsule
What is the pelvis of the kidneys?
the tubes that lead to the ureter
What is the renal cortex?
The superficial region of the kidney in contact with the fibrous capsule. It is a continuous layer and forms the renal columns
Is the outer cortex a continuous layer?
yes
What are the renal columns?
A band of renal cortex that separates medullary pyramids
The inner medulla is divided into ______ called ______ _______ each of which end in a ________
pyramids
medullary pyramids
papilla
The cortex and medulla form functional parts called
lobes
What makes up a kidney lobe?
one medullary pyramid and all the cortex that surrounds it (including the renal columns)
Kidney lobes are lade up largely of ________ which are
nephrons
tiny tubes that filter from blood and create urine
Urine drains from each papilla and collects in a
calyx
Calyces join to form the
renal pelvis
The pelvis narrows as it exits the ______ to become the _______
hilum
ureter
Describe the flow of urine out of the kidney
papilla minor calyx major calyx renal pelvis ureter
What are three structures that provide external protection for the kidneys?
- 11th and 12th ribs
- renal fat pad
- fibrous capsule
Why is there no blood vessels in the medulla?
Because exchange occurs in the cortex
What is a medullary pyramid?
The inner medulla is divided into pyramids that are conical structures extending from the cortex to a tip called the renal papilla
The minor calyx collects urine produced by
a single kidney lobe
A major calyx forms from the fusion of
4-5 minor calyces
What is the renal pelvis?
a large funnel shaped chamber that collects urine from the major calyces
urine is produced by filtering waster from the blood into the
nephron
Filtration occurs in what part of the kidney?
the cortex
The afferent arteriole delivers blood from the _______ to the _______
arteries
glomerulus
What is the glomerulus?
A knot of glomerular capillaries
Where does filtration occur?
In the glomerulus (the glomerular capillaries)
Glomerular capillaries are what type of capillaries?
fenestrated
The efferent arteriole carries blood from the _______ to the ________ _________
glomerulus
peritubular capillaries
Where do the peritubular capillaries carry blood to?
the veins
What is the blood supply into the cortex to be filtered?
- abdominal aorta
- renal artery
- series of arteries
- afferent arteriole
- glomerular capillary
What is the blood supply away from the cortex after being filtered?
- glomerular capillary
- peritubular capillaries
- series of veins
- renal vein
- inferior vena cava
Innervation from a network of __________ nerves and ganglia called the ______ _______
autonomic
renal plexus
What do sympathetic nerves act to adjust?
The diameter of the renal arterioles and thus regulate blood flow
