The Renal System Flashcards
In general, how many kidneys do most humans have?
2
What are the functional units of the kidney?
Nephrons
What would you expect to find in your urine?
- Sodium
- Creatinine
- Water
- Urea
What is filtration?
Filteration of 200 L of blood daily
-Toxins, metabilic wastes and excess ion leaves the body in urine
What are the major functions of the kidney?
Filtration, excretion and regulation
What is secretion?
Hormones and foreign substances excrete blood
What does the kidney regulate?
Water, electrolytes and acids and bases
How does the kidney regulate the concentration of following ion in plasma?
Increasing or decreasing excretion in urine
What ions can be excreted via the kidney?
Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, HCO3-, H+, PO4-2
What is the endocrine function of the kidney?
- Long-term regulation of blood O2 carrying capacity
- Long-term blood pressure regulation
- Activation of vitamin D
How does the kidney endocrine function allow long-term regulation of blood O2 carrying capacity?
RBC production by bone marrow through erythropoietin (EPO) release
How does the kidney endocrine function allow long-term regulation of blood pressure?
Controlling water excretion which controls blood volume with the help of renin
How does the kidney endocrine function allow activation of vitamin D?
Parathyroid hormone (PTH) activates 1α-hydroxylase in the proximal tubule which vitamin D3 is activated
What does the renal system consist of?
- Diaphragm
- Kidney
- Ureter
- Bladder
- Urethra
Which kidney is lower than another?
Right kidney is lower
Why is the right kidney lower than the left kidney?
As the liver is above it
What is above the left kidney?
Spleen
What is on top of both kidneys?
Adrenal gland
What is the adrenal gland responsible for?
Production of hormones e.g aldosterone
What is the kidney composed of?
vascular system and renal parenchyma
What makes up the vascular system and renal parenchyma in the kidney?
Renal artery
Renal vein
Renal nerves
What is the renal artery?
Supplies the kidney blood
Subdivides to form afferent arteriol
What is the renal vein?
Returns blood back into circulation
What is the renal nerves?
Innervated by sympathetic nervous system
What does the afferent arteriole supply?
Blood to each and all nephrons within the kidney
What are the three major regions in the kidney?
- Renal cortex
- Renal medulla
- Renal pelvis
What is the renal pelvis?
Urine collected from major and minor calyxes to be directed towards ureter then the bladder
What does the renal cortex contain?
Renal corpuscles
What is the renal corpuscles?
- Network of capillaries surrounded by mesangial cells and encapsulated by Bowmans capsule
- Filtrated collected and directed to proximal tubule
- Distal tubule meets with afferent and efferent arterioles
What occurs in renal cortex?
Filtration
What occurs in renal medulla?
Concentration of urine
What does the nephron contain?
- Afferent arteriole
- Bowmans capsule
- Glomerulus
- Efferent arterioles
- Proximal convoluted tubule
- Peritubular capillaries
- Distal convoluted tubule
- Collecting duct
- Loop of Henle
- Vasa recta
What does each nephron has it own supply of?
Blood
What is the order of contents of the nephron?
- Afferent arteriole
- Bowmans capsule (Peritubular capillaries)
- Efferent arterioles
- Proximal convoluted tubule
- Distal convoluted tubule
- Loop of Henle
- Collecting duct
How does the blood supply the nephron?
- Blood enters through afferent arterioles
- Subdivides into capillaries where filtration occurs
- Come back together to form efferent arterioles
- Further subdivided in to peritubular capillaries
- Specialised vasa recta
- Joins back together and takes blood back to circulation via renal vein
What are Bowmans capsule surrounded by?
Network of capillaries
How many nephrons are there in the kidney?
1,00,000
What are the two types of nephrons?
Cortical nephron
Juxtamedullary nephrons
What % of neurones is cortical nephron?
80%
What % of neurones is juxtamedullary nephron?
20%
What are the features of a cortical nephron?
- Glomeruli located towards surface of kidney
- Penetrate very little of medulla
Why is glomeruli located towards surface of kidney in a cortical nephron?
Due to arcuate artery extending renal pyramid to external cortex