Urinary System Flashcards
How is ion content of urine adjusted?
Aldosterone
What does freely filtered mean? What is freely filtered?
There is the same concentration in filtrate and plasma.
E.g. Fluids and small solutes
What is the kidney functions?
- excretion of metabolic products
- excretion of foreign substances
- homeostasis of cell volume
- regulation of blood pressure
- secretion of hormones
What is the glomerular filtration rate?
GFR = the amount of fluid filtered from the glomeruli into the bowman capsule per unit of time - sum of filtration rate of all functioning nephrons
ml/min
Ultrafiltration coefficient is the membrane permeability and surface area
What is normal GFR?
Around 120 ml/min
What is renal tubular acidosis?
It is caused by hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis where there is an inability to acidity urine below 5.5 pH leading to impaired growth and hypokalaemia.
- causes acidosis because it proton-ATPase pump fails. Protons diffuse into cell but not into filtrate leading to tubule acidosis
What is bartter syndrome?
It is a defect in the thick ascending limb of Henle leading to excessive electrolyte secretion, premature birth, polyhydramnios, severe salt loss, hypokalaemia and moderate metabolic alkalosis
- effects Na/K/Cl transporter.
Tubular fluid has high osmotic pressure as salts are reabsorbed so water is not reabsorbed
What is fanconi syndrome?
Increased secretion of low molecular weight proteins, uric acid, phosphate, glucose and bicarbonate. Disease of proximal tubules associated with renal tubular acidosis
- caused by dent’s disease which is acidification of endoso even preventing protein reabsorption
What equations can be used to calculate GFR?
GFR = net ultrafiltration pressure x ultrafiltration coefficient
-ultrafiltration pressure = hydrostatic pressure in capilleries - hydrostatic pressure in tubule - osmotic pressure in capilleries
GFR = RPF x filtration fraction
ml/min
What are the main components of the urinary system?
Kidenys, ureters, bladder and urethra
What muscles are posteriorly associated with the kidneys?
psoas Major muscle, Quadratus lumborum muscle and Transversus abdominus
Describe the blood supply to the kidneys.
Renal arteries are short branches directly from the abdominal aorta. Renal veins drain into the inferior vena cava
Describe the structure of the kidney
The kidney is surrounded by a dense fibrous capsule.
The medulla is straited due to arrangement of tubules and micro-vessels. The kidney is multilobular
Urine is expelled from each lobe cdrains through it’s own renal papilla into minor calyx ➡️ these fuse to form renal pelvis which becomes the ureter
How is urine transported from the kidneys to the bladder?
Urine is transported through the ureters to the bladder. The fluid is moved by peristalsis and when the bladder fill the ureters are closed off at the ureterovesical valve. The ureters enter the bladder at the ischial spinal level
Where are 3 common sites for ureteric contraction (and kidney stone trapping)?
- pelviureteric junction: where the renal pelvis becomes ureter (most common)
- where ureter crosses pelvic brim
- where ureter transverses bladder
What cell type lines the urinary tract? How are they adapted to their function?
UROTHELIUM (transitional epithelium)
- 3 layers, slow turnover, large luminal cells with tight junctions and thick apical plasma membrane leading to low permeability
- pleater borders of urothelial cells allows unfolding and flattening as bladder fills
What holds the urethra in place?
pubovesical ligament
At what volume does bladder contraction begin to be initiated?
300-400 ml
Describe the micturation reflex (allows for urination)
Trigone stretch is detected by pelvic splanchic nerves of parasympathetic nervous system ➡️ increase stretch increases impulses to PNS nerves ➡️ detrusor muscle stimulated to contract and internal uretral sphincter to open
sympathetic innervation by hypogastric plexus.
cerebral cortex allows voluntary control component ➡️ motor neurones to external uretral sphincter contract, inhibition of this allows relaxation and urine to flow.
information is relayed by pontine-micturition centre in the brain
What are the main constituents of a nephron
Glomerulus (capillary bed involving an afferent arteriole and an efferent arteriole) ➡️ Bowman’s capsule ➡️ proximal convoluted tubule ➡️ loop of Henle ➡️ distal convoluted tubule ➡️ collecting duct
How is the Bowman’s capsule and glomerulus specialised to perform ultrafiltration?
Occurs in the renal corpuscle comprising of glomerulus, podocytes and bowman’s capsule.
- High pressure in glomerulus as afferent is larger than efferent (pressure gradient) & blood pressure from aorta
- Fenestrated capillary endothelium and specialised basal lamina allow for filtration (only small substances)
- Podocytes have feet like projections that wrap around the capillaries and allow further blood filtration (only things that can pass through the slits created)
All the above contribute to ultrafiltration where ions and molecules
What epithelium lines the proximal convoluted tubule?
How are they specialised?
cuboidal epithelium
Tight junctions making them water impermeable, but aquaporins allow H2O reabsorption. Lots of mitochondria for active transport. Brush border on apical surface to increase surface area for exchange
What is the function of the proximal convoluted tubule?
reabsorption of substances from the filtrate
What substances are reabsorbed by the proximal convoluted tubule? How are they reabsorbed?
- sodium
- water & anions (follow sodium)
- glucose via Na+/glucose co-transporter
- amino acids via Na+/amino acid co-transporter
- protein uptake by endocytosis
How does the epithelium lining the ascending and descending loops of henle differ?
descending = simple squamous
ascending limb: cuboidal epithelium
Where is the juxtaglomerular apparatus found and what does it do?
located at the distal convoluted tubule and has endocrine function. detection of low BP or low sodium content leads to renin secretion
- receive BP information from juxtaglomerular cells of afferent arteriole
- information about sodium from macula densa cells on distal convoluted tubule
What is primary urine?
A clear fluid (ultrafiltrate), completely free of blood and porteins, is produced containing electrolytes and small solutes via the process of ultrafiltration
What are normal values for renal blood flow, renal plasma flow and filtration fraction?
Renal blood flow = around 1L/min
Renal plasma flow = around 0.6 L/min
filtration fraction = around 0.2
What clinical events might effect GFR and what might their effect be?
severe haemorrhage ➡️ decreased GFR due to low BP
obstruction in nephron tubule ➡️ decreased GFR as hydrostatic pressure in tubule increases
reduced plasma protein concentration ➡️ increased GFR (due to increased osmotic pressure)
small changes to blood pressure does not effect GFR due to autoregulation
How does autoregulation ensure fluid and solute excretion remain reasonably constant in the kidney?
Myogenic mechanism: contraction of smooth muscle when it’s stretched
e.g. increase BP ➡️ stretching ➡️ contraction of arteriole ➡️ vessel resistance increases ➡️ blood flow reduced and GFR remains constance
- contract arterioles ➡️ decrease GFR
- dilate arterioles ➡️ increase GFR
tubuloglomerular feedback: sodium concentration is detected by macula densa cells which can control renin-angiotensin systenm
What is clearance? what is the equation and units for clearance?
Clearances is the number of litres of plasma that are completely cleared of the substance per unit time
clearance (ml/min) = concentration in urine x urine production rate/ concentration in plasma
When does GFR = clearance? Give example molecules
When a molecule is freely filtered and neither reabsorbed or secreted then the GFR = clearance
Inulin (plant polysaccharide)
Creatinine
What is the renal plasma flow?
The volume of blood plasma delivered to the kidneys per unit time
ml/min
What molecule can be used to measure renal plasma flow and why?
PAH (para aminohippurate) is used because it is filtered and actively secreted by kidney in one pass so is equal to the RPF
value gives 625ml/min
how much more water and salt so we consume than what we need to replace?
20-25% more
What two paths can molecules take when reabsorbed or excreted?
transcellular or paracellular
What facilitates waters movement transcellularly and paracellularly?
transcellular = aquaporins paracellular = permeable tight junctions