Urinary System Flashcards
Name at least four functions of the kidneys other than forming urine
Filter blood plasma and excrete toxic metabolic waste;
regulate blood volume, pressure, and osmolarity by regulating water output;
regulate electrolyte and acid-base balance;
secrete erythropoietin, which stimulates production of RBCs;
help regulate calclium homeostasis and bone metabolism by participating in systhesis of calcitriol;
clear hormones and drugs from blood;
detoxify free radicals;
support blood glucose level by synthesizing glucose from amino acids during tiems of extreme starvation
List four nitrogenous wastes and their metabolic sources
Ammonia (formed from -NH2 removed from amino acids), Urea(converted from ammonia by liver), Uric acid (produced by catabolism of nucleic acids), and Creatinine(created by catabolism of creatine phosphate)
Name some wastes eliminated by three systems other than the urinary system
carbon dioxide, water, inorganic salts, lactic acid, lipids, cholesterol, etc
What is a nephron?
a functional unit of the kidney
What affects the filtration coefficient?
surface area available for filtration and permeability of the filtration membrane
Starting at a renal papilla, what structures will urine flow through?
1: minor calyx,
2: Major calyx,
3: renal pelvis,
4: ureter
Name the capillary bed fed by an afferent arteriole and drained by an efferent arteriole
glomerulus
What is the inner layer of the kidneys?
Medulla
What is the outer layer of the kidneys?
Cortex
In glomerular filtration, blood is filtered to form what?
glomerular filtrate
What is the role of juxtaglomerular cells in renal autoregulation?
Dilate/constrict arterioles; release renin
What is the role of mesangial cells in renal autoregulation
dilate/constrict glomerular cpillaries
What is the role of macula densa in renal autoregulatioN
Monitor tubular fluid
What is the name of the tube that the renal pelvis of each kidney funnels urine into?
ureter
Which solutes are reabsorbed from the nephron loop?
Chloride, potassium ions, sodium ions
From deepest to most superficial, list the layers of connective tissues surrounding the kidney
1: Fibrous capsule,
2: Perirenal fat capsule
3: Renal fascia
Urine is conveyed out of the body by which tube?
urethra
In the kidney, tubular reabsorption refers to the movement of fluid and solutes where?
from the tubular fluid into the blood
The renal pyramids make up the layer of the kidney called what?
renal medulla
Describe mesangial cells
Cells between the arterioles and amongst the glomerular capillaries