Renal Structure and Function Part 1 Flashcards
where do renal arteries branch from
the abdominal artery
what does the ureter do
it is the tube carrying urine to the bladder
what does the urethra do
the tube carrying the urine from the bladder to the outside
describe what the renal arteries pass into and divide into
the renal arteries pass into the interloper vessel and divide into the small arcuate arteries in the renal cortex
where do the arcuate arteries end
= they terminate in a clump of capillaries in a cortex in a structure called the glomerulus
what is each capillary glomerulus enclosed by
- it is enclosed inside a bag of tissue called the bowman capsule
what are the stages of urine formation
- plasma is filtered from the glomerular capillaries into the space of the capsule
1. blood enters the glomerulus of the nephron int he afferent arteriole and leaves through the efferent arterioles, afferent has a larger diameter than efferent this causes a drop in pressure between eh afferent and efferent arterioles and this makes the filtration pressure which forces the fluid through the endothelium into the capsular space
2. the fluid leaves bowman capsule and enters the proximal convoluted tubule then it enters the loop of gene then the distal convoluted tubule and then the collecting duct which drains in the ureter
what is the difference between the afferent arterioles and efferent arterioles
- afferent has a larger diameter than efferent
- afferent brings blood in whereas efferent removes the blood
what is the filtration fraction
it is normally 20%
- this is the proportion of the blood plasma that is filtered through glomerulus into the bowman capsule which enters in the proximal tubule
a greater filtration fraction will…
- make the blood in the efferent arteriole too viscous as it would have too high a haematocrit
describe the capillary structure in the glomerulus
- they are fenestrated - this means that they have gaps between the endothelial cells
- covered on the outside by podocytes
- podocytes have gaps between them which help form the filtration mechanism this allows certain molecules to enter the urine and certain molecules to stay in the plasma
what happens to the podocytes in renal disease
- in renal disease - the podocytes become inflamed and enlarged therefore the gaps between them get larger which enables more solutes to enter the urine
- proteinuria is therefore a sign of glomerular inflammation
what is the nephron
- this is the complete set of tubes from the bowman capsule to the collecting duct
- it is the unit of kidney function
what supplies oxygenated blood to the glomerulus
- efferent arterioles
- wraps around and forms a plexus
what part of the nephron is in the medulla
- loop of Henle
what part of the nephron is in the cortex
- glomerulus
- proximal convoluted tubule
several distal tubules….
enter into one collecting duct
what part of the nephron can vary in size
- loop of Henle
- in desert animals it is long so they don’t loose much water but have heavily concentrated urine
- in water animals it is short so they loose a lot of water and don’t have heavily concerted urine
what happens int he proximal convoluted tubule
- reabsorption into the pertiubular capillaries
- substances are transported out of the capillaries and secreted into the tubular fluid
- filtration
How do you work out the amount of material excreted
amount filtered + amount secreted - amount reabsorbed
what is the filtration of water into the capsule controlled by in an healthy individual
- balance between constriction of the afferent and efferent arterioles
what is the normal physical pressure in the glomerular capillaries
55 mmHg
How do you work out the net filtration
hydrostatic pressure - osmotic pressure
what is the net filtration pressure
10 mmHg