Urinary System Flashcards
What are the functions of the urinary system
- Maintain water and electrolyte homeostasis, body fluid osmolality, and acid-base balance
- Excrete toxic metabolic waste products
- Act as an endocrine gland
What hormones are produced by the kidneys
- Renin
2. Erythropoietin
Describe the gross structure of the kidney going from the ureter
Ureter -> renal pelvis -> major calyces -> minor calyces
What is the medulla of the kidney composed of
8-18 medullary pyramids, with apices pointing toward the hilum (papillae) ending on the minor calyces
What is the kidney surrounded by
A capsule composed of:
- Outer fibrous layer
- Inner more cellular layer (myofibroblasts)
What are the renal columns
Sections of cortical material either side of the medulla
What are the medullar rays
Collections of collecting ducts and the straight segments of the proximal and distal convoluted tubules
Where are the medullary rays found
In the cortex
What is the nephron
The basic functional unit of the kidney and it is composed of the renal corpuscle and renal tubules
How many nephrons are there in a human kidney
600,000 to 1 million
What is the total length of a single nephron, and the total length of the nephron tubing
Nephron = 45-65mm
Nephron tubing = 60km
What are the 4 different components to the nephron
- Renal corpuscle
- Proximal convoluted tubule
- Loop of Henle
- Distal convoluted tubule
What occurs in the renal corpuscle
Production and collection of glomerular filtrate
What occurs in the proximal convoluted tubule
Reabsorption of water, proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, and glucose
What occurs in the loop of Henle
Creation of hypertonic environment in the medulla
What occurs in the distal convoluted tubule
Acid-base and water balance (absorption of water, Na and bicarbonate; excretion of K and H ions
How is the renal corpuscle formed
A tuft of capillaries called the glomerulus and the cup of simple squamous epithelium at the blind end of the nephron which the capillaries invaginate into (Bowman’s capsule)
How many, and what, cells separate the blood from the glomerular filtrate
Two cell layers:
- Capillary endothelium
- Specialised epithelium (podocytes)
What exists between the two layers that separate the blood from the glomerular filtrate
A thicker than usual (0.3um) basal lamina, made up of a feltwork of GAGs
What produces the mesangium (connective tissue core)
Scattered mesangial cells