Kidney Flashcards
What is the hilum of the kidney?
Medial entrance for blood vessels and ureter to enter the kidney
What is the shell around the renal medulla?
The renal cortex
What is the microscopic functional unit of the kidney?
The nephron
What does the nephron consist of?
The renal corpuscle (filtering component) and a renal tubule
What is the corpuscle?
A Cluster of capillaries (glomerulus) and sac-like structure (Bowman´s capsule)
What is a renal tubule?
It is a coiled tube that leads away form the Browman´s capsule and empties in the collecting duct
What processes are required to form urine?
Glomerular Filtration, tubular reabsorption, tubular secretion
How is the solute concentration of urine determined?
Specific gravity of urine
What is the pH of normal urine and how does it changes?
4.6 to 8.0, it can decrease in a high protein diet
Why can Glucose be detected in the urine, even though it usually gets reabsorbed?
After a meal high in carbohydrates or as a result of uncontrolled diabetes
When are proteins found in the urine?
-Small amounts of small proteins like albumins can be detected after exercising
-Large amounts of proteins when glomerulus is damaged
-High blood pressure
-Sickle cell anemia
When are Leukocytes found in the urine?
-Presence of infection
-Damage -> Blockage of urinary tract or holding urine too long
When is Bilirubin found in the urine?
In liver diseases such as hepatitis or biliary obstruction (blockage of the duct that carries bile from the liver to the gallbladder)
-> Bilirubin leaks back to the blood stream and is excreted in urine
When is Urobilinogen found in the urine?
-It is present in low concentrations in the urine
-Formed in the intestine from Bilirubin and some of it is reabsorbed into the bloodstream
-It indicates hepatitis, cirrhosis, and increased destruction WBCs
When is Uric acid found in the urine?
-Patients with Gout -> results from the crystallization of uric acid crystals in joints.
-Some kidney stones are also composed of uric acid
