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Renal System: A Tutorial Study Guide
About this book
“Renal System” is a part of the college-level Principles of Biology course series and the Neuropsychopharmacology course series textbooks. It is a tutorial written in questions and answers format to describe the anatomy and physiology of the renal system, including the kidneys, nephrons, filtration system, counter-current exchange system, dialysis, nitrogen wastes, and fluid balance.
It is a study guide with in-depth explanations. Each section is a modular unit that is self-contained for easy reading. The principles and concepts are introduced systematically so students can learn and retain the materials intuitively.
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Yes, you can access Renal System: A Tutorial Study Guide by Nicoladie Tam in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Biology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Subtopic
BiologyIndex
Biological Sciences1.2.Anatomy of Renal System
Objectives
- Understand the anatomical structure of renal system
Concepts to Learn
- Kidneys, ureter, bladder and urethra
- Renal cortex, renal medulla and renal pelvis
- Nephrons
Q&A
What is the renal system consisted of?
The renal system in higher animals is consisted of the kidneys, ureter, bladder and urethra.
The renal system is sometimes called the urinary system because it produces urine as a result. The kidney is the major organ in the renal system that does most of the filtration, reabsorption, elimination and secretion of materials. The bladder stores the eliminated fluid and materials, while the ureter and urethra are the ducts that connect the kidneys to the bladder and from the bladder to the external world, respectively.
What is the basic functional unit in the kidneys?
It is the nephron. The kidneys contain thousands of these nephrons to filter fluid and reabsorb materials.
Nephrons are the basic function units that contain a filtration site and long convoluted tubules, which uses counter-current exchange system to reabsorb materials as well as active pumps that selectively re-collect needed materials.
What are the specific functions of the nephron?
It does filtration, reabsorption, elimination and secretion of materials to maintain the homeostatic balance of bodily fluid.
One of the principles used in the nephron is to filter out the materials first (including nutrients, water, ions, toxins, etc., and then reabsorb them after they had been filtered out selectively. Although this may seem wasteful to filter everything out first, in reality, it is one of the most efficient ways to eliminate the unwanted materials and reabsorb those that are needed selectively.
What are the different portions of kidney called anatomically?
They are the renal cortex, renal medulla and renal pelvis.
The glomerulus, Bowman’s capsule, proximal convoluted tubule and distal convoluted tubule are located in the renal cortex.
The descending and ascending limbs are located in the outer medulla. The loop of Henle is located in the inner medulla.
What is the renal cortex?
It is the outer part of the kidney.
It contains the glomerulus (where filtration occurs), the Bowman’s capsule (at the opposite side of the glomerulus), the proximal convoluted tubule and distal convoluted tubules of the nephrons. The concentration gradient of materials is highest in the renal cortex.
What is the renal medulla?
It is the middle layer of the kidney.
It contains the descending limb and ascending limb of the nephrons.
What is the renal pelvis?
It is the innermost part of the kidney.
It contains the loop of Henle (where the renal tubule makes a U-turn). The concentration gradient of materials is the lowest in the renal pelvis
What is the ureter?
Ureter is the tube that connects from the kidneys to the bladder.
It connects from the collecting ducts in the nephrons to the bladder where urine is stored.
What is the function of the bladder?
It is used to temporary store the excreted materials and fluid before it is emptied into the outside world.
When the fluid is stored in the bladder, it cannot be reabsorbed again because the reabsorption site is in the kidneys.
What is the urethra?
Urethra is the tube that connects from the bladder to the external world.
There are two sphincters in the urethra, one internal and one external sphincter. When the bladder is full, the stretch receptors in the bladder send the signal to relax the sphincters to open. Both sphincters have to open in order to urinate. This provides failsafe mechanism from accidental leaking,
Can one survive with one kidney?
Yes, an animal can survive on only one kidney.
If the function of one kidney is lost, the remaining kidney will increase the workload. As a result, the remaining kidney doubles its size.
Because of this, life donor of kidneys can be done. When a patient who has failed kidneys cannot find a suitable donor, a close relative can donate a life kidney to the patient.
In some third world countries, life donor of kidneys is done in exchange for money. In other words, people actually sell their kidney for mo...
Table of contents
- Preface
- Renal System
- Functions of Renal System
- Anatomy of Renal System
- Functions of Nephron