Unit 3.7 - Homeostasis and the kidney Flashcards
Homeostasis
The maintenance of a constant internal environment by negative feedback
What does homeostasis prevent?
Wild fluctuations beyond the optimal range
What does homeostasis allow to happen?
Cells and metabolism can function efficiently
Give some examples of factors that are maintained by homeostasis
Core body temperature
pH
Water potential of blood and body fluids
What should a human’s core body temperature be?
Approximately 37 degrees Celsius
What could happen to some of the factors that have an optimal level in our body and when?
May change due to changes in our activity or external environment
Does homeostasis keep factors at the optimal level all of the time?
The factors fluctuate about the set point
Explain the homeostatic mechanism that occurs when we exercise
Core body temperature rises
The body responds to bring the temperature down again by producing sweat which evaporated from the skin and uses energy to cool us down
What is the production of sweat when we’re hot an example of?
A homeostatic mechanism
What happens if our core body temperature gets too high?
Denatured enzymes
What happens if our core body temperature gets too low?
Metabolic reactions don’t happen fast enough, so metabolic processes in cells can’t be maintained
In what condition is the body kept during homeostasis?
Dynamic equilibrium
Why is the body described to be kept in “dynamic equilibrium”?
Constant changes occur but corrective mechanisms bring the internal environmental conditions back towards a set point
How are internal environmental conditions brought back towards a set point when changes occur?
Corrective mechanisms
Which system controls homeostatic responses?
The endocrine system
How does the endocrine system control homeostatic responses?
With hormones operating by negative feedback
What are the 4 stages involved in negative feedback?
Stimulus
Receptor
Co-ordination
Effector
Explain the negative feedback system for when the body temperature exceeds 37 degrees Celsius
Stimulus = body temperature exceeds 37 degrees Celsius
Receptor = nerve cells in skin and brain
Co-ordinator = temperature regulatory center in brain
Effector = sweat glands throughout the body
What does a receptor do during negative feedback?
Detects a deviation from the set point in the internal environment
What does a receptor do during negative feedback?
Sends instructions to the co-ordinator or controller
What does a co-ordinator or controller do during negative feedback?
Communicates with one or more effectors which make responses which are corrective
How does a co-ordinator communicate with effectors during negative feedback?
By hormones circulating in the blood or nerve impulse
Name for the “normal conditions” achieved by homeostasis?
The set point
How is negative feedback stopped once a factor has returned back to normal (the set point)?
The factor changing is monitored by the receptor and information is fed back to the effectors, which stop making the correction
What do homeostatic systems use to control their levels?
Negative feedback
Why is negative feedback called negative feedback? Give an example
It gives the opposite result to the stimulus
E.g - decrease in temperature = brings temperature up
2 main functions of the kidney
Excretion
Osmoregulation
Excretion
The removal of nitrogenous waste from the body
The removal of nitrogenous waste from the body
Excretion
Osmoregulation
The control of the water potential of the body’s fluids
The control of the water potentials of the body’s fluids
Osmoregulation
What is Osmoregulation an example of in the kidneys?
A homeostatic mechanism
What is an example of a homeostatic mechanism in the kidneys?
Osmoregulation
Why does excretion occur?
Due to metabolism
4 excretory organs used by the mammalian body to excrete compounds
Lungs
Kidneys
Skin
Liver
Compounds excreted by the lungs
CO2 and H2O in expired air
Compounds excreted by the kidneys
Urea, creatinine and uric acid in urine (all nitrogenous waste)
Compounds excreted by the skin
Urea in sweat
Compounds excreted by the liver
Bile pigments in faeces
What are urea, creatinine and uric acid in urine all examples of?
Nitrogenous waste
Main nitrogenous waste excreted by kidneys
Urea
Give a detailed explanation on why urea is the main nitrogenous waste from the kidneys
In our diet, we eat proteins
Proteins are digested and absorbed in the body in the form of amino acids (amino acids are needed to make proteins)
Generally, we have too much protein in our diets
Therefore, we have an excess of amino a acids
If we can’t use them, the body can’t store them
So, amino acids are processed in the liver
Liver cells remove the amino group in a process called deamination
The rest of the amino acid is used in respiration for energy or converted into carbohydrate or fat
The amino group is converted into ammonia, then idea, the mai excreted product
Can our bodies store amino acids?
No
Where are amino acids processed when we have an excess of them?
In the liver
Why do we have an excess of amino acids?
Too much protein in our diets
Deamination
Remove the amino group from an amino acid
Process of removing the amino group from an amino acid
Deamination
What type of cells cause deamination?
Liver cells
What happens to the rest of the amino acid after deamination?
Used in respiration for energy or converted into carbohydrate or fat
What happens to the amino group removed from an amino acid after deamination?
The amino group is converted into ammonia, then urea, the main excreted product
Which system are the kidney part of?
The urinary system
Describe the location of the kidneys in the human body
Have 2 kidneys
One on each side of the back bone
Towards the back of the abdomen
Below the diaphragm
Describe the blood flowing from the heart to the kidneys
Oxygenated
High level of urea
How does oxygenated blood flow form the heart to the kidneys?
Via the aorta and renal arteries
Describe the blood returned to the heart form the kidneys
Deoxygenated
Lower levels of urea
Where is nitrogenous waste removed in the body?
The kidneys
How is blood returned to the heart from the kidneys?
Via the renal veins and vena cava
Explain how urine is passed out of the body
Urine containing a high concentration of urea is passed via the ureter to the urinary bladder for storage, until it is passed out of the body through the urethra
How is urine passed to the bladder and why?
Via the ureter
For storage
Through what is urine passed out of the body?
Through the urethra
What are kidneys inside and what is this?
Tough renal capsules
Fibrous connective tissue
Where is the blood from the renal artery filtered?
In the outer layer, the cortex, at the bowman’s or renal capsules
Where is the Bowman’s capsule located?
At the cortex
Where are the loops of Henle?
The medulla
What does the medulla contain?
The loops of Henle
The collecting ducts that carry urine to the pelvis
What do the collecting ducts in the medulla do?
Carry urine to the pelvis
What lead to the renal pelvis?
Calixes
What do calixes lead to?
The renal pelvis
What does urine travel down to reach the bladder?
The ureter
What does the renal artery do in the cortex?
Branches into narrow branches
Where does the renal artery branch into narrow branches?
In the cortex
What happens to blood in the cortex?
Blood is filtered to remove nitrogenous waste and excess water
Where is blood filtered to remove nitrogenous waste and excess water?
In the cortex
What happens to filtered blood once it’s been filtered in the cortex?
Travels through the renal vein to return to circulation
Where does blood travel down from the cortex to return to circulation after it’s been filtered?
Through the renal vein
Describe the network of blood vessels in the kidney
Very dense
Why is there such a dense network of blood vessels in the kidney?
All the blood in or system passes through the kidney many times a day
Where are most blood vessels found in the kidneys?
The cortex or the medulla
Where does the process of filtering out waste from blood happen?
In the cortex and the medulla
Nephron
One of the units used to filter blood
What are nephrons?
Millions of tubes in the kidneys
What is the nephron to the kidney?
The functional unit
Which part of the nephron are the bowman’s capsule and the proximal and distal consulates tubules present?
In the cortex
What are present in the cortex of the nephron?
Bowman’s capsule
The proximal and distal convoluted tubules
Which part of the nephron is found in the medulla?
The loop of Henle
Where is the loop of Henle found in the nephron?
In the medulla
What carries blood to the nephron?
An afferent arteriole (a branch of the renal artery)
What does an afferent arterials do?
Carries blood to the nephron
Afferent arteriole
A branch of the renal artery
What does the glomerulus contain?
About 50 parallel capillaries
What’s enclosed in the Bowman’s capsule?
Glomerulus
Wha encloses the Glomerulus in the nephron?
The Bowman’s capsule
Where is blood filtered exactly in the nephron?
The glomerulus
What happens in the glomerulus?
Blood is filtered
What does the tubule do after the glomerulus has filtered the blood?
Returns needed substances the the blood and removed waste
Where is filtered blood carried by an efferent arteriole to?
- a capillary network surrounding the proximal and distal convoluted tubules
-the vasa recta, a capillary network surrounding the loop of Henle
What is filtered blood carried by?
An efferent arteriole
Vasa recta
A capillary network surrounding the loop of Henle
The capillary network surrounding the loop of Henle
Vasa recta
Name for the fluid travelling through the nephron
Filtrate
Filtrate
Fluid travelling through he nephron
What happens to the content of the filtrate along the nephron?
Changes
When is filtrate called urine?
By the time it’s reached the renal pelvis
when is filtrate called urine instead?
By the time it’s reached the renal pelvis
Do nephrons exist individually?
No
What does the efferent arteriole do?
Carries blood away from the glomerulus and divides up into many arteries
What leaves the blood when filtrate is formed?
Waste but also some useful materials like glucose
Why do we need selective re absorption?
To recover useful materials that left the blood when the filtrate was formed in the glomerulus
Where does selective reabsorption happen mainly?
In the proximal convoluted tubule
What happens mainly in the proximal convoluted tubule?
Selective re absorption
What is the loop of Henle mostly concerned with?
The osmotic potential of the blood
Ultrafiltration
Filtration under high pressure
Filtration under high pressure
Ultrafiltration
How many capillaries are in the glomerulus?
Numerous
Describe capillary walls
1 cell thick
Cells that make up capillary walls
Endothelial cells
What are the cells of the capillaries set on?
A basement membrane
What are between endothelial cells in the capillaries?
Fenestrations (pores)
Where are fenestrations in the capillaries?
Between endothelial cells
What do fenestrations in the capillaries do? Explain
Make the capillary semi-permeable
Don’t allow cells but allow small soluble molecules to leave the blood plasma (the rest can stay in the capillary)
What do fenestrations allow small soluble molecules to leave?
The blood plasma
How does blood arrive in the capillaries of the glomerulus?
From the afferent atriole
Why does the blood from the afferent arteriole to the glomerulus have a high pressure?
The afferent atriole has a wider diameter than the efferent atriole
The heart’s contraction increases the pressure of arterial blood
What does the high blood pressure to the glomerulus facilitate and why?
Facilitates ultrafiltration
High blood pressure forces filtrate out of the blood and into the nephron
What does glomerular filtrate contain?
Water
Glucose
Salts (e.g - sodium)
Urea
Amino acids
What do we want to do with the urea in globular filtrate?
Get rid of it as nitrogenous waste
How is blood entering the glomerulus separated from the bowman’s space?
By 3 layers
3 layers separating the blood entering the glomerulus from the Bowman’s space
Capillary walls
Basement membrane
Squamous epithelial cell layer of the Bowman’s capsule (podocytes)
What is the name for the tiny pores between the endothelial cells of the capillary walls in the glomerulus?
Fenestrations
Diameter of fenestrations
80nm
What do fenestrations in the capillaries of the glomerulus allow to happen?
Allow solutes to pass to the basement membrane
What is the selective molecular filter between the blood entering the glomerulus and the bowman’s space?
Basement membrane
What is the basement membrane known as in the glomerulus?
Selective molecular filter
Why is the basement membrane in the glomerulus known as the selective molecular filter?
It only allows small molecules to pass through
What type of molecules would be too large to pass through the basement membrane in the glomerulus?
Blood cells
Placelets
Large proteins such as antibodies
Extensions of podocytes
Pedicels