Nephrons Flashcards
What is the Nephron?
The Nephron is a functional unit in the kidney, consisting of a glomerulus and its associated tubule, through which the glomerular filtrate passes before emerging as urine.
How is the flow of material through the nephron driven?
The flow of material into the nephron is driven by blood pressure - there is no energy expenditure.
How are molecules selected?
Selection is driven by active transport across gradients by passive and active diffusion.
Chrondrichthyes Nephron?
Chrondrichthyes, or Elasmobranchs have complex nephrons.
Teleost Nephron?
The Teleost nephron is less complex than the elasmobranchs;
Freshwater Teleost nephrons are well developed as they have to regulate ions and produce large filtrate volumes.
Marine Teleost have a reduced complexity of the nephron as they only have to produce a low filtrate volume; however they do have aglomerular for ion flow.
