Renal System Flashcards
Functions of the kidney?
- Regulation of water, inorganic ion balance, and acid-base balance
- Removal of metabolic waste products from the blood and their excretion in the urine
- Removal of feoreign chemicals from the blood and their excretion in the urine
- Production of hormones/enzymes
Erythropoietin?
Produced at the kindeys, it is a hormone that controls erythrocyte production for formation of RBCs
Renin?
Produced at the kidneys, it is an enzyme that ontrols the formation of angiotensin and influences blood pressure and sodium balance
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D?
The active form of vitamin D that is formed by the kidney and influences calcium balance
T/F: Kidneys are paired organs ?
True
How much do kidneys weight approx.?
150 grams each
Where in the body are kidneys found?
Behind the peritoneum(epithelial layer of the abdominal cavity) on either side of the vertebreal column against the posterior abdominal wall(close to the back)
What does renal mean?
Pertaining to the kidneys
How are kidneys connected to the bladder?
Kidneys are connected to the bladder via the ureters, urine is then held in the bladder and then emptied via the urethra
Can people with one kidney survive?
Yes, they are normally healthy individuals
Vasculature of the kidney?
-The kidneys have one renal artery entering the kidney
-The kidneys have one renal vein
Layers of the kidney from outside in?
- Renal cortex
- Renal medulla
- Renal pelvis(urine formation)
Branching of the renal artery in the kidney in order?
- Renal artery
- Interlobar artery
- Arcuate artery
- Interlobular artery
- Afferent arteriole
When does the interlobar artery start?
Goes between the medulla
When are the arcuate arteries found?
When the interlobar artery reaches the junction between the cortex and the medulla, the arcuate artery starts and branches out perpendicularly
When do the interlobular arteries start?
They branch out from the arcuate arteries into the renal cortex
Afferent arterioles?
-Comes from the interlobular artery and brings blood to the nephron
Where are nephrons found?
In the renal cortex attached to afferent arterioles
How nephrons does each kidney have?
1 million
What is a nephron composed of?
- Tubule
- Renal corpuscle which is made of two parts(glomerulus(capillary loops) and bowman’s capsule)
Describe the renal corpuscle?
-Outer layer of the Bowman’s capsule (parietal layer)
-Bowman’s Space
-Inner layer of the Bowman’s capsule (visceral layer: podocytes)
-Glomerulus: entangled in capillary loops
Afferent vs Efferent Arteriole?
Afferent arteriole: Feeds blood into the capillary loop of the glomerulus
Efferent arteriole: Blood exits the capillary loops via this
Distal tubule of the glomerulus?
This is where the loop of Henle attaches to the glomerulus
Podocytes?
-Specialized epithelial cells of the visceral layer of the bowman’s capsule
-Surround the capillary walls
-Have foot processes that interdigitate with one another and surround the capillary wall