The Renal System Flashcards
(38 cards)
What does the renal system consist of?
Kidneys, ureters, bladder and the urethra
Where are the kidneys located?
Located either side of the spine just below the ribcage
What is the function of the kidneys?
- Filter blood to remove waste and excess water to make urine
- Maintain BP
- Make red blood cells
- Maintain strong & healthy bones
- Maintaining Water balance of the blood
- Maintaining Electrolyte balance of the blood
- Ensuring proper blood pH
The kidneys 2 main structures
- Outer renal cortex
- Inner renal medulla
What does the outer renal cortex do?
The renal capsule surrounds the outer cortex and provides space for the glomerulus’s renal artery, veins, and capillaries
What does the inner renal medulla do?
Smooth part within the kidneys that houses the renal pyramids and Loop of Henle. Each kidney has over a million functional units called nephrons which do the filtering.
What is the ureter?
A thin muscular tube that helps in pushing the urine to the urinary bladder. It’s function is to connect each kidney to the renal pelvis.
What is the urinary bladder?
A muscular organ that stores the urine until it can be passed. A muscular tissue lines it which contracts to squeeze urine out of urethra.
What is micturition?
Process by which bladder holds urine at full capacity and discharges it.
What is the urethra?
A muscular tube that starts from opening the urinary bladder and runs through the pelvic region to open outside of the body.
What is the function of the urethra?
Work in tandem with the urinary bladder to squeeze urine out of the body by relaxing the sphincter
What is inside the nephron?
- Glomerulus (filter)
- The tubule (returns to blood and removes waste)
What is the process of the kidneys working?
- After the body uses food for energy and self-repair, the waste is sent to the blood
- The kidneys act as filters, ridding the body of waste, drugs and toxic substances, and returning vitamins, amino acids, glucose, hormones and etc into the bloodstream
- The fluid that is filtered is then adjusted by a complex series of urine-disposing tubes called tubules
- The substances necessary for the good functioning of the body are retained, and those that are not needed are excreted
What are the 3 stages of creating urine?
- Glomerular Filtration
- Tubular reabsorption
- Tubular Secretion
What happens during Glomerular Filtration?
Blood vessels visit the kidney and enter a special ball of capillaries called the glomerulus. This is where filtration occurs. As blood is pushed through the tiny capillaries, the high-pressure forces some things to pass through the capillary walls. The walls act as a sieve or a filter.
What happens during Tubular reabsorption?
The filtrate enters the kidney in the tubule. Many things removed which are either reabsorbed by body or removed in urine
Glucose, certain salts, vitamins, hormones, and amino acids are restored to the body and will not be included in urine.
What is a filtrate?
Substance that enters kidneys: Water, sugar, salts, amino acids, nitrogenous wastes,
What happens during the Tubular Secretion?
The filtrate passes through the loop of henle where it gains and loses water & salt. As it leaves, it enters the distal tuble where secretion occurs.
How does the body remove toxins through secretion?
They do not go through filtration or absorption but are secreted straight from the blood vessel into almost fully formed urine in the distal tubule.
What is the Glomerulus
Capillaries which filter blood
What is the loop of henle?
Recover water, ions and etc into blood stream
What is the tubule?
Removes waste products
(returns nutrients, fluids, and other substances that have been filtered from the blood, but the body needs, back to the blood. The remaining fluid and waste in the renal tubules become urine.
What is extracellular fluid?
Body fluid that is not contained in cells
Kidneys and fluid balance
Receive and act on messages depending on how much is drank.
If body is hydrated, 80% of ingested fluid excreted within the hour.
