water balance and the renal system

Question 1

whats the purpose of the renal system?

Answer 1

• the formation of urine for the elimination of waste (especially nitrogen-containing waste i.e. urea and uric acid)
• regulation of blood volume and blood pressure by adjusting the volume of water lost in urine
• regulation of plasma ion concentrations by regulating quantities of ions lost in urine e.g. Na+, Cl- and K+
• regulation if blood pH by controlling the loss of H+ and HCO3 in urine

Question 2

what is water balance in the body?

Answer 2

the input and output of water in the body is equal

Question 3

how much blood does the kidneys receive a day?

Answer 3

they reveive ~1000-2000L of arterial blood a day through the renal artery

Question 4

what is the journey of urine through the kidneys?

Answer 4

urine drains into the renal pelvis,
then into the ureter
then urinary bladder
ther the urethra for excretion (~180L filtrate processed per day in 1.5L of urine but the majority is reabsorbed)

Question 5

what is the functional unit of the kidney?

Answer 5

the nephron

• its one cell thick
• severall million in each kidney

Question 6

what are the 4 main parts of the neuphron?

Answer 6

• the renal corpsule (golomerus and bowmans capsule)
• proximal convoluted tubule (PCT)
• loop of henle
• distal convoluted tubule (DCT)

Question 7

what are the cortex and medulla made up of in the kidneys?

Answer 7

cortex- renal corpsule, PCT and DCT

medulla- loops of henle and collecting duct

Question 8

what is the renal corpsule?

Answer 8

its made up of the glomerulus and bowmans capsule

Question 9

what is the renal corpsule?

Answer 9

its made up of the glomerulus (a cluster of capillary loops enclosed by bowmans capsule)
blood enters the renal corpsucle via afferent arterioles and then leaves via efferent arterioles

Question 10

what is the proximal convoluted tube?

Answer 10

its the first segment of the renal tube
the convoluted portion of the tubule leads into a straight segment that decends into the medulla and becomes the loop of henle

Question 11

what is the loop if henle?

Answer 11

it forms a hair-pin structure that dips into the medulla and then acends towards the cortex parallel to the descending limb

Question 12

what is the distal convoluted tubule?

Answer 12

its shorter and less convoluted than PCT

the initial segment of the DCT lies next to the glomerulus and is known as the juxglemerar apparatus (JGA)