unit 1.2 - kidneys Flashcards
what are the kidneys responsible for
osmoregulation
excretion
how do the kidneys help in osmoregulation
they regulate the water content of the blood
how do the kidneys aid in excretion
they excrete the toxic waste products of metabolism such as urea.
what are the structures involved with the fuctions of the kidney
renal artery
renal vein
kidney
ureter
bladder
urethra
what is the function of therenal artery
carries oxygenated blood to the kidney
what is the role of the renal vein
carries deoxygenated blood away from the kideys after it has been filtered.
what is the role of the ureter
carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder
what surrounds the kidneys
a tough outerlayer called the fibrous capsule
what are the 3 main areas of the kidneys
cortex
medulla
renal pelvis
what does the cortex contain
glomerulus, bowmans capsule, proximal convulted tubule and the distal convulated tubule
what does the medulla contain
loop of hence and collecting ducts of the nephrons
what is the renal pelvis
where the ureter joins the kidney
what is a nephron
tiny tubes which are the functional unit of the kidneys.
theyre responsible for the formation of urine.
what supplies the glomerulus with blood
afferent arteriole (from the renal artery)
what do the capillaries of the glomerelus form?
efferent arteriole
what does the efferent arteriole do
transports blood from the glomerulus to capilaries supplying the rest of the nephron
what are the 2 processes in urine production
ultrafiltration
selective reabsorption
what is ultrafiltration
when small molecules are filtered out of the blood and into the bowmans capsule
what does ultrafiltration produce in the bowmans capsule
glomeruler filtrate
what is selective reabsorption
when useful molecules are taken back from the filtrate abd returned to hte blood.
what rae the steps of ultrafiltration
- arterioles branch off the renal artery and lead to a nephron where they form a knot of capllaries called the glomerulus.
- the afferent arteriole causes a high blood pressure in the glomerulus due to being wider.
- the high pressure causes smaller mollecules in the blood to be forced out into the bowmans capsule where they form filtrate.
what are the main substances that are ultrafiltrated
amino acids
water
glucose
urea
inorganic ions such as na+ k+ and cl-
what is not filtered out and why
blood cells and large proteins because theyre too large to be forced out.
