What are the main parts of the mammalian kidney?

  1. Fibrous capsule - outer membrane that surrounds and protects the kidney
  2. Outer cortex - contains Bowman's capsules, convoluted tubules, and blood vessels
  3. Inner medulla - contains loops of Henle, collecting ducts, and blood vessels
  4. Renal pelvis - funnel-shaped cavity that collects urine into the ureter
  5. Ureter - tube that carries urine to the bladder

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What is the difference between the renal artery and the renal vein?

  1. Renal artery - supplies the kidney with blood from the heart via the aorta
  2. Renal vein - returns blood to the heart via the vena cava

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What is a nephron?

A nephron is the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney.


It consists of the Bowman's capsule, proximal convoluted tubule, loop of Henle, distal convoluted tubule, and collecting duct.

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Outline the pathway of filtrate through a nephron.

  1. Filtrate is formed in the Bowman's capsule
  2. Filtrate moves into the proximal convoluted tubule
  3. Filtrate moves into the loop of Henle
  4. Filtrate moves into the distal convoluted tubule
  5. Filtrate moves into the collecting duct, forming urine


Urine is then moved out of the kidney to the bladder via the ureter, where it is stored until it is removed from the body during urination through the urethra.

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What is the Bowman's capsule?

The Bowman's capsule is the closed end at the start of the nephron.


The inner layer of the Bowman's capsule consists of cells called podocytes.


It surrounds a mass of capillaries called the glomerulus from which fluid is forced out of the blood into the Bowman's capsule.

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What is the proximal convoluted tubule?

The proximal convoluted tubule is a series of loops surrounded by blood capillaries.


Its walls are made of epithelial cells that have microvilli.

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What is the loop of Henle?

The loop of Henle is a long, hairpin loop that extends from the renal cortex into the renal medulla and back to the renal cortex again.


It connects the proximal convoluted tubule to the distal convoluted tubule.

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What is the distal convoluted tubule?

The distal convoluted tubule is a series of loops surrounded by blood capillaries.


Its walls are made of epithelial cells, but it is surrounded by fewer capillaries than the proximal convoluted tubule.

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What is the collecting duct?

The collecting duct is a tube that collects filtrate from multiple nephrons and further fine-tunes the water balance, before the urine formed is passed to the bladder.

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What are the main blood vessels that are directly associated with the nephron?

  1. Afferent arteriole - supplies the glomerulus with blood
  2. Glomerulus - mass of capillaries from which fluid is forced out of the blood into the Bowman's capsule
  3. Efferent arteriole - carries blood away from the glomerulus
  4. Capillaries around the proximal and distal convoluted tubules and the loop of Henle - absorb salts, glucose, and water

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