renal physiology Flashcards
Where are the kidneys located?
- located retroperitoneally in the flanks or mid-back region.
-under the lower part of the ribcage either side
of the vertebral column.
Right kidney is slightly lower due to the liver.
what are the major functions of the kidney?
- Filtration
- Production
- Regulation
how nitrogenous waste like ammonia produced and what can it be converted into?
produced from protein catabolism
- it is toxic and soluble in water
can be converted to urea which is due to amino acids being broken down
can also be converted to uric acid and this is due to nucleotides being broken down
how can you detect the kidneys are not working?
if the serum creatinine is too high
what is the kidney involved in the production of?
- renin
- prostoglandins
- vitamin D
- erythropoietin - EPO
what is renin?
an enzyme produced by juxtaglomerular cells that allow BP to be maintained
how do the kidneys regulate the body fluid?
they have help from the adrenal glands; aldosterone release and the brain which releases ADH
how much of the body volume is water?
around 40-45L is H2O
what does kidney do if there’s too much or too little water in the body?
if there’s too much H2O -> remove the water; dilute urine
- this also means that sodium ion levels will increase
if there’s too little H2O -> conserve the water; concentrated urine
what’s the normal osmolality of the body?
285 mOsm/kg H2O
can be from 275-295
what are cells usually surrounded by?
interstitial fluid
what is meant by hypotonic and hypertonic?
hypotonic is when there is more solutes inside the cell than in the EC region
hypertonic is when there is less solutes inside the cell than in the EC region
how do RBC act in isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic solutions?
RBC in isotonic do not change volume
RBC in hypertonic solution so h2o will diffuse out causing it to shrivel
RBC in hypotonic solution will swell as h2o will diffuse into them
how is exchange and mixing of body fluids regulated?
by the hydrostatic and osmotic pressure
what are starlings forces and what do they do?
allows h2o and electrolytes to freely move across the capillaries and the IF
occurs by diffusion
the changes in hydrostatic pressure leads to fluid movement across the capillaries
(mmHg)
what is meant by oncotic and hydrostatic pressure?
hydrostatic pressure is the pressure of fluids against their barrier. plasma in capillaries have a +ve pressure while IF usually have -ve IF
- from the pumping of the heart
oncotic pressure is the pressure created by the presence of solutes. as capillaries are not plasma protein permeable there is a higher conc of solutes in the plasma than the IF creating the gradient
- from plasma proteins
how is asymmetric distribution of K+ and Na+ maintained across plasma membrane?
this is due to the Na+K+ATPase in the plasma membrane which removes Na+ in exchange for the K+
what does the nephron contain?
the glomerular capsules, the glomerulus, the collecting ducts, the proximal and distal tubule, the loop of henle
collecting duct opens into ureter
nephrons are closed at proximal end and open at the distal end
what enters and leaves the nephron?
the fluid called filtrate will enter the nephron and uric will flow out of the other
this fluid is modified by cells that line the nephron
what is stage 1 of glomerular filtration?
this is the urine formation
- blood enters glomerulus and sit inside the Bowmans capsule
- Plasma will filter out of the capillaries in glomerulus into the Bowmans capsule
- blood cells and protein do not pass but any other molecule does
what are the three layers plasma passes through in the filtration barrier?
- endothelial cells; they line the capillaries; have large pores to let fluid enter; has high hydrostatic pressure so lot plasma can be forced through pores
- basement membrane; is very thick and excludes proteins due to size and -ve charge; it has -ve charged proteoglycans on it
- podocytes; epithelial cells of bowman capsule visceral layer and cover capillaries
how are molecules filtered in the basement membrane?
large molecules are excluded due to spatial restriction.
intermediate-sized molecules are restricted due to their charge and size
+ve molecules attracted to the BM and uncharged molecules can pass through into the filtrate.
-ve charged anions are excluded
all small molecules can pass through despite charge but repulsive forces can reduce rate of movement
what does starling forces allow to happen?
this means fluid movement will occur out of capillaries into Bowmans capsule; due to hydrostatic pressure of 50mmHg and oncotic pressure of BC of 0mmHg; the wider afferent arteriole allows this
this also means fluid movement into the capillaries from BC will occur; due to hydrostatic pressure of filtrate in BC of 15mmHg and oncotic pressure of capillaries of 25mmHg; proteins draw fluid back to them causing oncotic pressure and the fluid entering the full nephron allows plasma to get pushed back into capillaries
why is albumin not in the filtrate?
it is not filtered due to its negative charge which is repelled by the basement membrane
what is proteinuria and what are the major causes?
it is when there is protein in the urine due to disruption of the filtration barrier and so protein leaks into the BC
causes:
- diabetes mellitus; excessive plasma glucose damages filter
- hypertension; high hydrostatic pressure damages filter
- glomeruluonephritis; inflammatory damage due to immunological attack
when you have damaged kidney filters what does this mean for proteins and starling forces?
this means that there is a decrease in plasma proteins which lowers the plasma oncotic pressure
more fluid is coming out of arteriole vessel but proteins are unable to draw fluid back in for the venule vessels
so decreased plasma protein levels
what are symptoms of oedema?
- bubbly or frothy urine
- swollen around eyes
- swollen hands or feet
what is the normal GFR? what is GFR?
should be 125ml/min or 180 L/day
this should be maintained
the glomerular filtration rate is the volume of fluid filtered from the renal capillaries into the BC during a certain period of time
what happens if the GFR is too high/low?
if the GFR is too high this means the needed substances cant be reabsorbed quickly enough and are lost in urine
if GFR is too low then everything will be absorbed included toxic or nitrogenous wastes than needed to be disposed of
GFR is dependant on hydrostatic pressure
What are the four basic renal processes?
- Glomerular filtration; glomerular capillaries
- Tubular reabsorption; PCT
- Tubular secretion; PCT
- Excretion; collecting ducts
what occurs in the PCT?
this is where most active (uses ATP) and passive (e.g. osmosis ) reabsorption takes place
has a large SA for reabsorption -> brush border on tubular cells
- ions
- h2o
- glucose
- AA and vitamins
what is meant by clearance and excretion?
clearance = volume of blood cleared of drug over a period of time excretion= amount of drug excreted over period of time by kidneys
what does clearance depend on?
clearance depends on the GFR, drug structure, age, whether drug has been filtered/secreted or reabsorbed
how is dosage determined from clearance and GFR?
drugs have different clearance rates and this determines the dosage
the higher clearance = higher dosage needed to maintain the plasma conc.
low clearance- inefficient excretion
if GFR is low a lower dose is needed; drug isn’t being removed quickly so lower dose needed
how is PCT structured to help with kidney function?
it has many organelles such as mitochondria and it has a brush border
the mitochondria creates ATP to be used in AT reabsorption
the brush border allows a higher absorption capacity and increases SA of each cell
where is the apical side and the basolateral side?
apical is side of the tubule lumen containing the brush border
basolateral side is the opposite side of the PT cells
what pathways are there in the PCT?
there is transcellular pathway- through the cell across apical membrane and basolateral membrane; through interstitium and into capillaries
there is paracellular which moves across the leaky junctions in between the cells
how are peri-tubular capillaries structured to allow quick diffusion to occur?
they are porous and have low BP and so allow material to diffuse back into them
in the PCT what does the Na+K+ATPase channel allow?
it allows an ionic gradient across tubular cell membrane to be established
Na+ out of intracellular area of cell which provides driving force for Na+ reabsorption from filtrate to tubular cell and then out into blood
The Na+ entry allows other solute entry by secondary AT alongside the reabsorbed Na+
why is energy for Na+ reabsorption needed?
when Na+ is reabsorbed then the other solutes and water can be reabsorbed also
H20 can move by osmosis with Na+
what is the process of reabsorption of Na+ in peri-tubular capillaries?
there is an Na+K+ATPase channel on the basolateral membrane of PT cell.
3 Na+ will be pumped out of the tubular cell by this channel in exchange for 2 K+. the Na+, high conc., will then diffuse into blood in PTC
at the same time, high Na+ will enter tubular cells through Na+ channels and move down an electrochemical gradient to be pumped into interstitium by Na+K+ATPase channel
how does Na+ reabsorption allow glucose uptake to occur?
- at the Na+K+ATPase channel on basolateral
- membrane, Na+ is pumped out and K+ in. When Na+ moves into tubular cells down EC gradient it pulls glove with it into cell due to SGLT1 and SGLT2 co-transporter channels
- glucose diffuses out of basolateral membrane through GLUT2 channels while Na+ is pumped out through Na+K+ATPase
- glucose and Na+ reabsorbed
how HCO3- uptake occur with Na+ reabsorption?t
- Na+ down its EC gradient and is exchanged for H+ via a NA+/H+ anti-porter. Na+ is pumped out the Na+K+ATPase
- secreted H+ combines with filtered with HCO3- to give rise to water and CO2
- > need carbonic anhydrase which is located on the apical brush border of PCT tubular cells - CO2 diffuses into to cell and recombines with H20 to produce HCO3- and H+
- the H+ will then be removed from the cell through the Na+/H+ anti-porter and the HCO3- exits the cell into interstitium and diffuses into the blood
how does water reabsorption in the PCT occur?
- the paracellular route; between cells
2. transcellular route; through aquaporins in cells
how does H20 and solutes reabsorption occur with Na+ reabsorption?
- Na+ moves down gradient due to Na+K+ATPase and exits into interstitium (primary active)
- many substances are transported into tubular cell with Na+ ( secondary active; no ATP)
- H20 is reabsorbed by osmosis - as it follows Na+
- the conc. of the remaining solutes increasing in filtrates and so move down gradient by diffusion
- Lipids move transcellularly through interstitium into blood; passive diffusion
- the ions move down gradient paracellularly into capillaries; passive diffusion
what is the loop of henle and what occurs here?
this is a looped region
has a countercurrent flow
filtrate contains h20 and solutes that change in conc through the loop
ensures as much h20 is reabsorbed as possible but mainly from CD and DCT
absorbed h20 is taken up by vasa recta (blood vessels)
what is corticomedullary or corticopapillary osmotic gradient?
it is when moving from outer renal cortex -> inner renal medulla the interstitium of medullary region becomes MORE CONCENTRATED
what happens at the thick ascending LoH?
- actively extrudes solutes into interstitium- makes filtrate hypo osmotic as solute conc. goes lower
- interstitial osmolality increases (intersitium hyper osmotic)
- lots of Na+K+ATPase channels on tubular cells due to removal of Na+/Cl; requires a lot of energy
- no H20 removed as ascending loop is only permeable to solutes so H20 stays in filtrate
there are no water pores and cells are packed tightly together
what is the role of the thin descending loop of henle?
this is when h20 is extruded from the LoH
the medullary interstitium reabsorbs h20 and then is picked up by vasa recta
not obligatory h20 reabsorption
in descending it is impermeable to solutes and only permeable to h20 so solute stays in filtrate
has aquaporins for h20 to be extruded
how does the cortico-medullary interstitial gradient occur?
the extrusion of Na+/Cl- from the ascending and the reabsorption of water from the descending creates an increasing vertical hyper osmotic gradient in the medullary interstitium
- the interstitium is very concentrated
the outer cortex is less hyper osmotic (more hypo) and so inner medulla is more hyper osmotic
this creates the corticomedullary gradient
why is the interstitial fluid made only 200mOsm/kg H2O more concentrated than the filtrate in ascending limb at levels?
this is because although there are millions of Na+K+ATPases, energy is still used to pump Na+ and Cl- out of these cells
they can only do so much
what is the role of the LoH as a countercurrent multiplier?
it creates an osmotic gradient (300-1200 mOsm) from renal cortex to medulla
how do Low and CD reabsorb H2O and concentrate urine?
the extruded Na+ and Cl- in the interstitium creates a gradient
this gradient is used to reabsorb H2O and concentrate urine
what is the LoH known as and why?
it is called the countercurrent multiplier
the countercurrent flow of the LoH enlarges the hyperosmolar medullary interstitium into a large vertical gradient
at the base of the LoH what is the osmolality of filtrate?
the filtrate osmolality increases to 1200mOsm/kg H2O
it is hyperosmostic