STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE URINARY SYSTEM

Question 1

The urinary system consists of

Answer 1

f two kidneys, two ureters, one urinary bladder, and one urethra.

Question 2

scientific study of the anatomy, physiology, and disorders of the kidneys.

Answer 2

Nephrology

Question 3

the branch of medicine that deals with the male and female urinary system, and the
male reproductive system.

Answer 3

Urology

Question 4

Functions of the Kidneys

RRREP

Answer 4

(1) Regulation of ion levels in the blood.
(2) Regulation of blood volume and blood pressure.
(3) Regulation of blood pH
(4) Production of hormones.
(5) Excretion of wastes.
.

Question 5

By forming urine, the kidneys help excrete wastes. These include

Answer 5

1) Ammonia and urea from the breakdown of amino acids.
2) Bilirubin from the breakdown of hemoglobin.
3) Creatinine from the breakdown of creatine phosphate in muscle fibers.
4) Uric acid from the breakdown of nucleic acids.

5) Other wastes excreted in urine are foreign substances from the diet, such as drugs
and environmental toxins.

Question 6

Where are the kidneys

Answer 6

(1) The kidneys are a pair of reddish organs shaped like kidney beans.

(2) They lie on either side of the vertebral column between the peritoneum and the back wall
of the abdominal cavity at the level of the 12th thoracic and first three lumbar vertebrae.
The 11th and 12th pairs of ribs provide some protection for the superior parts of the
kidneys.

(a) The 11th and 12th pairs of ribs provide some protection for the superior parts of the
kidneys.

(3) The right kidney is slightly lower than the left because the liver occupies a large area
above the kidney on the right side.

Question 7

On a kidney, near the center of the medial border is an indentation called

Answer 7

renal hilum

Question 8

a connective tissue

sheath that helps maintain the shape of the kidney and serves as a barrier against trauma.

Answer 8

transparent renal capsule

Question 9

Along with a
thin layer of dense irregular connective tissue, This tissue anchors the kidney to the
posterior abdominal wall.

Answer 9

Adipose (fatty) tissue

Question 10

) Internally, the kidneys have two main regions:

Answer 10

(a) Renal cortex, an outer light-red region (cortex = rind or back)
(b) Renal medulla, an inner, darker red-brown region (medulla = inner portion).

Question 11

cone-shaped pyramids Within the renal medulla are severa

Answer 11

renal pyramids

Question 12

What fill the spaces between renal pyramids.

Answer 12

Renal columns

Question 13

Urine formed in the kidney passes from thousands of papillary ducts within the renal
pyramids into cuplike structures called

How many per kidney

Answer 13

minor calyces

8-12 minor calyces

Question 14

Flow of urine starting from the gross kidney

Answer 14

(2) Urine formed in the kidney passes from thousands of papillary ducts within the renal
pyramids into cuplike structures called minor calyces.

(3) From these structures, urine next flows into 2-3 major calyces, and then into a single large cavity called the renal pelvis.
(4) The renal pelvis drains urine into a ureter which transports urine into the urinary bladder for storage and eventual elimination from the body

(Papillary ducts in the pyramids-> minor calyces ->major calyces ->renal pelvis -> ureter -> bladder -> (not stated: urethra) out

Question 15

About 20–25% of the resting cardiac output (1200 milliliters of blood per minute) flows
into the kidneys through the right and left renal arteries
(2) Within each kidney, the renal artery divides into smaller and smaller vessels (segmental,
interlobar, arcuate, interlobular arteries) that eventually deliver blood to the afferent
arterioles.

(a) Each afferent arteriole divides into a tangled capillary network called a glomerulus.
(b) The capillaries of the glomerulus reunite to form an efferent arteriole.

(c) Upon leaving the glomerulus, each efferent arteriole divides to form a network of
capillaries around the kidney tubules.

(3) These peritubular capillaries eventually reunite to form peritubular veins, which merge
into interlobular, arcuate, and interlobar veins.

(a) Ultimately, all these smaller veins drain into the renal vein.

Answer 15

break this card up. Idk how to do this.

Question 16

The functional units of the kidney

how many in each kidney

Answer 16

nephrons

million in each
kidney

Question 17

A nephron consists of two parts:

Answer 17

(a) Renal corpuscle, where blood plasma is filtered.

(b) Renal tubule into which the filtered fluid, called glomerular filtrate, passes.

Question 18

The two parts that make up a renal corpuscle

Answer 18

the glomerulus and the glomerular

(Bowman’s) capsule

Question 19

(a) Glomerular filtrate first enters the glomerular capsule and then passes into the renal
tubule.

(b) In the order that fluid passes through them, the three main sections of the renal tubule
are the proximal convoluted tubule, the loop of Henle, and the distal convoluted
tubule.

(c) Proximal denotes the part of the tubule attached to the glomerular capsule, and distal
denotes the part that is farther away. Convoluted means the tubule is tightly coiled
rather than straight.

(d) The renal corpuscle and both convoluted tubules lie within the renal cortex; the loop
of Henle extends into the renal medulla.

(e) The first part of the loop of Henle begins in the renal cortex and extends downward
into the renal medulla, where it is called the descending limb of the loop of Henle

(f) It then makes a hairpin turn and returns to the renal cortex as the ascending limb of
the loop of Henle.

(g) The distal convoluted tubules of several nephrons empty into a common collecting
duct.

(h) Several collecting ducts merge to form a papillary duct, which leads to a minor calyx,
a major calyx, renal pelvis and ureter.

Answer 19

break this card up

Question 20

To produce urine, nephrons and collecting ducts perform three basic processes which include

Answer 20

glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption, and tubular secretion.

Question 21

forcing of fluids and dissolved substances smaller than a certain size
through a membrane by pressure.

Answer 21

Filtration

Question 22

This is the first step of urine production. Blood pressure forces water
and most solutes in blood plasma across the wall of glomerular capillaries, forming
glomerular filtrate.

Answer 22

Glomerular filtration

Question 23

Filtration occurs where

Answer 23

glomeruli

Question 24

Tubular reabsorption occurs as

Answer 24

filtered fluid flows along the renal tubule and through the
collecting duct:

(a) Tubule and duct cells return about 99% of the filtered water and many useful solutes
to the blood flowing through peritubular capillaries.

Question 25

Tubular secretion also takes place as fluid flows along the tubule and through the
collecting duct:

Answer 25

(a) The tubule and duct cells remove substances, such as wastes, drugs, and excess ions,
from blood in the peritubular capillaries and transport them into the fluid in the renal
tubules.

Question 26

By the time the filtered fluid has undergone tubular reabsorption and tublar secretion and
enters the minor and major calyx it is called

Answer 26

urine

Question 27

Nephrons help maintain homeostasis of which part of the body

Answer 27

blood’s

volume and composition.

Question 28

Glomerular Filtration

Answer 28

BREAK THIS DOWN MORE

(1) Two layers of cells compose the capsule that surrounds the glomerular capillaries.

(a) Think of the renal corpuscle as a fist (the glomerular capillaries) pushed into a limp
balloon (the glomerular capsule) until the fist is covered by two layers of the balloon.
The space between the renal corpuscle and the glomerular capsule is the capsular
space.

(b) The cells that make up the inner wall of the glomerular capsule, called podocytes,
adhere closely to the endothelial cells of the glomerulus.

(c) Together, the podocytes and glomerular endothelium form a filtration membrane that
permits the passage of water and solutes from the blood into the capsular space.
(d) Blood cells and most plasma proteins remain in the blood because they are too large
to pass through the filtration membrane.

(e) Simple squamous epithelial cells form the outer layer of the glomerular capsule

Question 29

The pressure that causes filtration is the blood pressure in the glomerular capillaries.

Answer 29

Net Filtration Pressure

Question 30

Two other pressures oppose glomerular filtration:

Answer 30

(a) Blood colloid osmotic pressure and

(b) Glomerular capsule pressure (due to fluid already in the capsular space and renal
tubule) .

Question 31

When either Blood colloid osmotic pressure and glomerular capsule pressure glomerular filtration

Answer 31

decreases

Question 32

more stuff about net filtration

Answer 32

(d) Normally blood pressure is greater than the two opposing pressures producing a net
filteration pressure of about 10mmHg.

(e) Net filtration pressure forces a large volume of fluid into the capsular space, about
150 liters daily in females and 180 liters daily in males.

(f) Net filtration pressure can be summarized as follows:

1) Net filtration pressure = glomerular capillary blood pressure - (blood colloidal
osmotic pressure + glomerular capsule pressure).

(g) Because the efferent arteriole is smaller in diameter than the afferent arteriole, it helps
raise the blood pressure in the glomerular capillaries.

(h) When blood pressure increases or decreases slightly, changes in the diameters of the
afferent and efferent arterioles can actually keep net filtration pressure steady to
maintain normal glomerular filtration.

(i) Constriction of the afferent arteriole decreases blood flow into the glomerulus, which
decreases net filtration pressure.

(j) Constriction of the efferent arteriole slows outflow of blood and increases net
filtration pressure.

Question 33

he amount of filtrate that forms in both kidneys every minute is called the

Answer 33

glomerular
filtration rate (GFR)

Question 34

GFR for men an d women

Answer 34

105 mL/min in females

125 mL/min in males.

Question 35

What happens If the GFR is too high,

Answer 35

needed substances pass so quickly through the renal tubules

that they are unable to be reabsorbed and pass out of the body as part of urine.

Question 36

What happens if the GFR is too low

Answer 36

nearly all the filtrate is reabsorbed and waste

products are not adequately excreted.

Question 37

a hormone that promotes loss of sodium ions and water in

the urine in part because it increases glomerular filtration rate.

Answer 37

Atrial natriuretic peptide

Question 38

Cells in the atria of the heart secrete more ANP when

Answer 38

the heart is stretched more, as occurs when blood volume increases.

Question 39

How does ANP act on the kidneys

Answer 39

increases loss of sodium ions and water in urine,
which reduces the blood volume back to normal.
occurs when blood volume increases.

Question 40

(3) The blood vessels of the kidneys ae by sympathetic neurons of the autonomic nervous
system and when active, cause vasoconstriction.
(a) At rest, sympathetic stimulation is low and the afferent and efferent arterioles are
relatively dilated.
(b) With greater sympathetic stimulation, as occurs with exorcise or hemorrhage, the
afferent arterioles are constricted more than the efferent arterioles.
(c) As a result, blood flow into the glomerular capillaries is greatly decreased, net
filtration pressure drops, and GFR drops.
(d) These changes reduce urine output, which helps conserve blood volume and permits
greater blood flow to other body tissues.

(skipped the rest of EO 3)

Answer 40

Too much stuff.

Question 41

The structures that transport, store and eliminate urine

Answer 41

Ureters
Urinary Bladder
Urethra