The Kidneys

Question 1

Kidney: 3 main roles and how they are completed

Answer 1

Removal of urea from blood
Adjustment of salt levels in blood
Adjustment of water content of the blood

They do this by filtering things out of the blood under a high pressure and then reabsorbing the useful things
The end result is urine

Question 2

3 steps of ultrafiltration

Answer 2

1. Blood from renal artery flows through the glomerulus (bundle of capillaries at the start of the nephron
2. A high pressure is built up which squeezes water, urea, ions and glucose out of the blood and into the Bowman’s capsule
3. The membranes between the blood vessels in the glomerulus and the Bowman’s capsule act like filters, so big molecules like proteins and blood cells are not squeezed out. They stay in the blood. The filtered liquid in the Bowman’s capsule is known as the glomerular filtrate.