Urinary System KuraCloud Q's Flashcards
Each kidney receives blood from the ________ artery.
renal
What is the name of the structure that is located superior of each kidney?
adrenal glands
Name and briefly describe the three main functions of the kidneys.
- excretion: removal of metabolic wastes from body fluids
- elimination: discharge of wastes from body
- homeostatic regulation of blood volume and solute concentration
Beyond filtration, what are the other homeostatic functions of the urinary system?
- regulation of blood volume
- regulation of blood pressure
- conserving valuable nutrients
- stabilisation of blood pH
- assisting liver in detoxification of poisons
- regulation of plasma ion concentrations
What internal structure of the kidney is the ‘functional unit’ of the kidney (i.e. the smallest structure that can carry out the functions of the urinary system)?
nephron
Nephrons consist of ________________________ .
renal corpuscle and renal tubule
Which of the above structures filters blood and what type of capillary allows this to occur?
glomerulus; fenestrated capillary
Which of the following structures returns filtered blood to the circulation?
efferent arteriole
What is the name of the fluid that enters the renal tubule?
filtrate
While travelling along the renal tubule, filtrate gradually changes in composition due to substances being _________ or _________ into or from capillaries that surround the nephron
reabsorbed; secreted
what are the functions of the renal corpuscle and renal tubule?
renal corpuscle
- filters blood
- filters glucose and small molecules from blood into filtrate
- retains proteins and large molecules (re too large to be filtered and return to blood)
renal tubule
- reabsorb 90% of water from filtrate
- reabsorbs useful organic nutrients that enter filtrate
- secrete waste products into filtrate
Filtrate passes from the distal convoluted tubule to the ______________ .
collecting duct
The three basic steps of urine formation are:
glomerular filtration
tubular reabsorption
tubular secretion
Is glomerular filtration a passive process or does it require energy?
Passive process - blood hydrostatic pressure forces fluids and solutes through the filtration membrane
What does the term glomerular filtration rate (GFR) mean?
amount of filtrate that the kidneys produce each minute