Structure And Function Of The Kindey Flashcards
What do the kidneys do?
Excrete most of the waste products by metabolism, filter blood, and control water volume and ion concentrations in maintaining the acid/base balance of the blood
What is the structure of the kidneys?
The outer layer of tissue in the kidney is the cortex, the inner layer of tissue in the kidney is the medulla
What do nephrons in the cortex do?
Filter water products from the blood and form urine
What do the pyramids in the cortex do?
Drain the blood and urine into the minor calyces
What do the minor calyces drain into?
The major calyces
What do the major calyces drain into?
The renal pelvis which empties through the ureters towards the bladder
What is the hilum?
The point where structures enter or exit the kidney
What are the structures that are involved in the hilum?
Renal vein, renal artery, ureter, lymphatics and sympathetic a
What is the functional unit of the kidney called?
The nephron
Where does the blood pass through for filtration in the kidney?
The glomeruli which are contained in the bowman’s capsule
What components are filtered out by the bowman’s capsule?
Almost all of the constituents of plasma, water and waste
What molecule are reabsorbed in the proximal tubule?
Glucose and ions
What is reabsorbed in the loop of henle?
Water
What happens in the distal convoluted tubule?
Any waste products that were not filtered out in the capsule are secreted into the lumen of the nephron
What molecules are reabsorbed in the collecting duct?
Water and ions are reabsorbed into the blood
What controls the volume of urine produced?
Reabsorption in the collecting duct
What does the ADH hormone do?
It is released from the posterior pituitary on the collecting duct and makes it more water permeable allowing reabsorption of water
What are the renal arteries?
Two large branches of the abdominal aorta that are found below the level of L1
What do the renal arteries divide into?
Afferent arterioles which feed into the glomeruli
Where do the efferent arterioles run?
From the glomerili and wrap around nephron
What are the arteries called that wrap around the loop of henle?
The vasa recta
What do the vasa recta drain into?
The renal veins which empty into the inferior vena cava
