Urinary System Flashcards
What are Amene groups converted to, in the process of cellular metabolism?
NH3 Ammonia
What does the liver do with the ammonia waste?
Converts in into Urea
What are the two functions of the urinary system?
- Removal of waste via excretion (filtration)
2. Regulate balance of water and salt in your blood
Where are the kidneys located?
Against the posterior body wall, retroperitoneal
Are the kidneys inside the abdominal cavity?
No
The 3 distinct layer of the kidney
- Renal cortex
- Renal medulla
- Renal pelvis
What is notable about the right kidney?
Slightly lower in position to accommodate liver
Each kidney is enclosed in what?
Renal capsule
Which vessel supplies blood to the kidneys?
Renal artery
What is the function of medulla?
Formation and storage of urine
What is the function of a renal pelvis?
To funnel urine into the ureters
What forces urine out of the kidney and into the bladder?
Peristalsis
At any given moment how much of your total blood volume is held in the kidneys?
20% +
On average, how many liters of blood a day are filtered by the kidneys?
120-140 liters
Renal arteries branch into what?
Capillaries
Capillaries branch further into what?
Nephrons
What are the 3 functions of the nephrons?
- Glomerular filtration
- Tubular Reabsorption
- Tubular Secretion
What is inside the Glomerular capsule?
Glomerulus
List the sequence of structure of the Nephron
Glomerulus, proximal convoluted tube (PCT), nephron loop [asscending & descending limbs], distal convoluted tube (DCT), collecting duct, renal pelvis
What supplies the glomerulus with blood?
Afferent arteriole
Which vessel carries blood away from the glomerulus?
Efferent arteriole
What does the endothelium of the glomerular capsule facilitate?
The passing of waste, ions, glucose, and amino acids into the capsule but block out bigger molecules like blood cells and proteins
Where do the bigger molecules (blood cells and proteins) at stay in the blood travel to, after being blocked out by the glomerular capsule
Peritubular capillaries or Vasa recta
What is the stuff that gets squeezed out of the glomerulus called?
Filtrate
What is the purpose for the long curving shape of the tubules?
To allow more time and space for reabsorption
Structure and function of PCT
Walls contain mitochondria to create ATP to power pumps to pull sodium ions from filtrate via active transport
Walls also contain microvilli to reabsorb usable substances back into blood
What is the primary task of nephron loop?
Drive the reabsorption of water
Describe reabsorption of water in nephron loop.
Creation of salt concentration gradient in the medulla. Actively pumps out salt in ascending limb which creates salty interstitial fluid in the medulla… New filtrate coming down the descending limb flows passively into the interstitial fluid
Why is the reabsorption in the nephron loop important?
Without it, we would dehydrate rapidly by excreting all of our water
Key principle in Glomerular filtration
Increased hydrostatic pressure
