online lecture: kidney anatomy and histology

Question 1

external arrangement of kidney

Answer 1

• renal capsule: physical barrier against trauma and maintains shape
• adipose capsule: padding/physical protect + maintaining position
• renal fascia: anchors kidneys to surrounding structures

Question 2

internal arrangement of kidney

Answer 2

• renal cortex below capsule and above pyramids
• medullary pyramids
• renal colums break up pyramids and contain blood vessels
• 8-12 lobes each with pyramid and colums on either side
• lobules in a lobe
• path of urine drainage

Question 3

path of urine drainage

Answer 3

• nephron feeding into many collecting ducts
• papillary ducts have collecting ducts feeding them
• calyx (minor to major): collect urine from pyramids
• renal pelvis (basin)
• ureter –> urinary bladder

Question 4

blood supply to kidney

Answer 4

• renal arteries become inter lobar arteries become interlobular arteries.
• interlobular arteries feed afferent arteriole feeds glomerulus

Question 5

organisation of nephron

Question 6

glomerulus/glomerular capillaries

Answer 6

• endothelium, specialised network of capillaries
• input is afferent arterioles
• output is efferent arterioles
• blood vessels and supply

Question 7

glomerular (bowman’s) capsule

Answer 7

• epithelium
• visceral has podocytes (mod. epithelium)
• parietal forms outer wall and is simple squamous

Question 8

filtration membrane

Answer 8

• fenestrations of glomerular epithelial cells prevent blood cell filtration but allow plasma components
• basal lamina of glomerulus prevents large protein filtration
• slit membrane between pedicels, prevents medium protein filtration

Question 9

organisation of renal corpuscle

Answer 9

• glomerulus
• glomerular (bowman’s capsule)
• adjacent to distal convoluted tubule/thick ascending loop of henle