Excretion - kidney Flashcards
(123 cards)
main function?
produce urine. they do this thru filtering the blood
2 main purposes of kidneys?
filtering the blood and controlling the water potential in the body
why is the kidney an excretory organ?
- the blood needs to be cleaned bc of the build up of toxic urea
- this is excreted as urine
How can the kidney regulate the water potential of the blood?
by controlling how much water is in the urine
cortex means?
Bark, the kidney cortex is the bark of the kidney
the interior of the cortex is?
the medulla, which is a darker colour than the cortex
there are pale branches of the medulla called the?
they are together called the renal pelvis. These collect urine and funnel it into the ureter
the renal pelvis drains together ?
into a tube called the ureter, each kidney has its own ureter
what does the ureter do?
Tube which carries urine to the bladder
how is the kidney separated from other organs and protected from mechanical forces?
By a layer called the fibrous capsule
what r nephrons?
messy tubes. MILLIONS in the kidney!!
the Bowman’s capsule is what shape?
cup shaped
how to remember PCT and DCT?
P in PCT means proximal so close to glomerulus, D in DCT means distal meaning far away
ultrafiltration definition?
the filtration of blood at the molecular level under a high pressure
blood supply to the glomerulus?
blood is supplied to the glom by the afferent arteriole
blood leaves the glomerulus from the?
efferent arteriole (eff off = go away)
after the glomerulus?
The efferent arteriole forms blood capillaries that surround the tubules of the kidney nephron -vasa recta
the afferent arteriole is a branch of the?
renal artery
feature of the efferent arteriole?
- smaller diameter than the afferent arteriole (smaller lumen)
- this means that the blood in the glomerulus is at a high HP
- so filtrate is ‘pushed’ into the Bowman’s capsule
hydrostatic pressure is ?
the pressure that the blood exerts on the wall of the vessel
The 3 major causes of kidney failure?
- diabetes
- hypertension
- infection
what happens when kidneys fail?
- Can’t make excess fluids, can’t remove waaste products from blood - urea, excess salts e.g.
any condition that lasts over 6 months is typically ?
chronic, acute is fast acting
symptoms of kidney failure?
- urea accumulation - uremic frost
- low vol of urine production
- K+ accumulation - can lead to heart failure
- electrolyte imbalance
- TF accumulation - oedema
- Acidosis