The kidneys Flashcards
What are the functions of the kidneys?
Excrete waste products
Regulate water potential of blood
Explain the process of ultrafiltration
As blood passes through the capillaries in the cortex of the kidneys, substances are filtered out of the blood and into long tubules that surround the capillaries
Explain the process of selective reabsorption?
Useful substances are reabsorbed back into the blood
Where do the unwanted substances go?
They pass along to the bladder and are excreted as urine
Where does blood from the renal artery enter?
It enters smaller arterioles in the cortex of the kidney
What does each arteriole split into?
Glomerulus
What is a glomerulus?
A bundle of capillaries looped inside a hollow ball called a Bowman’s capsule
Where does ultrafiltration take place?
Glomerulus
What is the afferent arteriole?
The arterioles that takes blood into each glomerulus
What is the efferent arteriole?
The arteriole that takes the filtered blood away from each glomerulus
Which arteriole has the smaller dimeter?
Efferent arteriole
Is the blood in the glomerulus under low or high pressure?
High pressure
What does the high pressure result in?
Forces liquid and small molecules in the blood out of the capillaries and into the Bowman’s capsule
What 3 layers does the liquid and small molecules pass through to get into the Bowman’s capsule and enter the nephron tubules?
Capillary wall
Membrane
Epithelium of Bowman’s capsule
What is the glomerular filtrate?
The molecules that enter the Bowman’s capsule
