the kidneys Flashcards
what is the most important function of the kidney
homeostatic regulation of the water and ion content of the blood (known as salt and water balance or fluid and electrolyte balance)
kidney functions can be divided into six general areas
- regulation of ECF volume and BP: decreased ECF lead to decreased BP
- regulation of osmolarity: maintain around 290 mOsM
- maintain ion balance: balance dietary intake with urinary loss
- homeostatic regulation of pH: by removing H+ and conserving bicarbonate ions
- production of hormones: synthesize erythropoietin for RBC synthesis
- excretion of wastes: remove waste products like creatinine, urea, and uric acid
urine production starts when
water and solutes move from plasma into the nephrons of the kidneys
nephrons
modify the fluid, when then becomes urine and moves into the ureters (tube that links a kidney to the bladder)
each kidney has a ureter that transports
urine to the urinary bladder
the bladder stores urine until it is expelled through the
urethra
women are more prone to urinary tract infections due to
the shorter urethra and proximity to bacteria from large intestine
what is the most common cause of UTIs
the bacterium e. coli found in the large intestine
the kidneys are responsible for urine formation and are located on
either side of the spine about the level of 11th and 12th ribs just above the waist. they are outside the abdominal cavity (retroperitoneal)
the concave surface of each kidney faces the
spine, where renal blood vessels, nerves, lymphatics, and ureters emerge
renal arteries
branching from the abdominal aorta, supply blood to the kidneys, while renal veins carry blood from the kidneys to the inferior vena cava (deoxygenated)
the kidneys receive how much of the cardiac output
20-25% highlighting the important of their high blood flow for renal function
the kidney’s interior is organized into two layers
an outer cortex and an inner medulla
nephrons
the functional units of the kidney, are microscopic tubules that form these layers
80% of nephrons are
entirely within the cortex (known as cortical nephrons)
the remaining 20% of the nephrons
extend into the medulla (juxtamedullary nephrons)
each kidney contain about how many nephrons
1 million
blood enter the kidney through
the renal artery, flows into smaller arteries then into arterioles in the cortex
the arrangement of blood vessels in the kidney forms
a portal system, consisting of two capillary beds inseries
gout
is a metabolic disease marked by high uric acid levels in the blood, causing inflammation and severe pain (in feet, ankles, and knees)
uric acid crystal (from gout) can also form
kidney stones in the renal pelvis
blood exits the glomerulus via
an efferent (away) arteriole and enters the pertubular capillaries, which surround the tubule
in juxtamedullary nephrons, the peritubular capillaries that extend into the medulla are called
vasa recta
peritubular capillaries converge to form
venules and small veins, which send blood out of the kidney through the renal vein
the renal portal system filters
fluid out of the blood into the nephron lumen at the glomerular capillaries and reabsorbs fluid from the tubule lumen back into the blood at the peritubular capillaries
the kidney tubule is composed of
a single layer of epithelial cells with apical surfaces folded into microvilli and the basal side resting on a basement membrane
cell to cell junctions in the tubule are mostly
tight but some allow selective ion permeability
where does the nephron start?
with bowman’s capsule, a hollow structure surrounding the glomerulus. the endothelium of the glomerulus is fused to bowman’s capsule, allowing fluid to pass directly into the tubule lumen
the renal corpuscle
is the combination of the glomerulus and bowman’s capsule
filtered fluid flow from bowman’s capsule into the proximal tubule then into the loop of Henle (a hairpin shaped segment divided into two limbs)
the two limbs has a descending limp and an ascending limb with thin and thick segments