Table of Contents
What is nephron diagram?
The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney. It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structure called Bowman’s capsule.
What is meant by renal tubule?
Listen to pronunciation. (REE-nul TOO-byool) One of millions of tiny tubes in the kidneys that returns nutrients, fluids, and other substances that have been filtered from the blood, but the body needs, back to the blood. The remaining fluid and waste in the renal tubules become urine.
What’s the nephron definition?
Nephron, functional unit of the kidney, the structure that actually produces urine in the process of removing waste and excess substances from the blood. There are about 1,000,000 nephrons in each human kidney. The capsule and glomerulus together constitute the renal corpuscle.
What is nephron and its function?
A Nephron. A nephron is the basic structural and functional unit of the kidneys that regulates water and soluble substances in the blood by filtering the blood, reabsorbing what is needed, and excreting the rest as urine. Its function is vital for homeostasis of blood volume, blood pressure, and plasma osmolarity.
What hormones are involved with the kidneys?
The kidneys make two main hormones, vitamin D and erythropoietin. Vitamin D is essential for a number of different functions in the body.
How is urine formed in nephron?
The nephrons of the kidneys process blood and create urine through a process of filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. Urine is about 95% water and 5% waste products. Nitrogenous wastes excreted in urine include urea, creatinine, ammonia, and uric acid.
What is a Juxtamedullary nephron?
Juxtamedullary nephrons have a glomerulus near the junction of the cortex and medulla and they have loops of Henle that penetrate deep into the medulla.
How are ultrafiltrate molecules extracted from the nephron?
As the ultrafiltrate molecules travel down the tubules they become more and more hypertonic, which results in more amount of water to be extracted from the ultrafiltrate before it exits the nephrons. The blood surrounding the nephron travels back into the body through the renal blood vessels, which are free of toxins and other excess substances.
How does the nephron maintain the electrolyte balance?
Thus, it maintains the pH and sodium-potassium level in the blood cells. Collecting duct is a long, straight tube where H+ and K+ ions are secreted to maintain the electrolyte balance of the blood. This is also the region where the maximum reabsorption of water takes place to produce concentrated urine.
What kind of structure is the nephron in the kidney?
They are the microscopic structure composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The word nephron is derived from the Greek word – nephros, meaning kidney. There are about millions of nephrons in each human kidney. The mammalian nephron is a long tube-like structure, its length varying from 35–55 mm long.