The Kidney Flashcards
What are the three jobs of the kidneys?
- Removal of urea from blood
- Adjustment of salt levels in blood
- Adjustment of water content of blood
The kidneys are part of which system?
The urinary system
What are the filtration units of the kidney?
Nephrons
What’s another organ of excretion in the body?
Skin, lungs
Where in the nephron does ultrafiltration occur?
Bowmans Capsule
What is the name for the bundle of capillaries at the start of the nephron?
The glomerulus
Where does blood flow into the nephron from?
The renal artery
What are the four substances squeezed out of the blood by the Bowmans Capsule?
Water, urea, salts, glucose
What’s the filtered liquid from the Bowmans capsule called?
Glomerular Filtrate
Name two substances found in urine?
Water, urea, salts
Where in the nephron is water absorbed back into the blood?
The collecting duct
A substance which stays in the blood throughout the nephron?
Proteins, blood cells
Useful substances are taken back into the blood in a process know as?
Selective reabsorption
What does the proximal convoluted tube reabsorb?
Glucose
Describe the journey urine takes when leaving the nephron?
Out the nephron through the ureter, then stored in the bladder before being released via the urethra.
What process is involved in the reabsorption of glucose?
Active transport against the concentration gradient.
What helps to squeeze water, urea and salts from the blood?
A high built up blood pressure.
Where is urea produced?
It’s produced in the liver from excess amino acids.
What is ultrafiltration?
A high pressure filtration through a partially permeable membrane, where larger particles are retained but smaller ones forced to move across the membrane.
What three main ways is water lost from the body?
Sweating, breathing & peeing
What hormone controls how much water is reabsorbed by the nephron?
ADH Anti-Diuretic Hormone
Where is ADH released from?
The Pituitary Gland
How does ADH affect how much water is reabsorbed by the nephrons?
ADH makes nephrons more permeable, so they absorb more water from the blood.
What is the process of constantly balancing the water in and out of your body.
Osmoregulation.
What mechanism controls the whole process of osmoregulation?
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