What structures make up the renal system?
2 kidneys, 2 ureters, 1 urinary bladder, 1 urethra
How much of body weight is represented by the kidneys?
<1% of body weight
How much of your cardiac output do the kidneys receive?
~20-25% of CO (>1L per minute)
What structures make up the kidney?
Renal cortex (responsible for filtration; contains renal corpuses), renal medulla (striated, responsible for regulation; contains nephron loops and collecting ducts), renal pyramid, renal artery (where blood goes in to be filtered), renal vein (where filtered blood exits, low amounts of waste), renal pelvis, ureter, and bladder (responsible for excretion)
What are the functions of the kidney?
Maintenance of water balance in the body; regulates body fluid osmolarity and balance of specific ions; eliminates unwanted materials from the body; helps maintain proper acid-base balance of the body (these first 4 functions are performed by nephrons); secretes useful hormones; converts vitamin D into its active form; gluconeogenesis
How does the kidney maintain water balance in the body?
The kidney helps to regulate extracellular fluid volume which is linked to water balance; this is also linked to the CVS since blood pressure is indirectly regulated by regulation of the extracellular fluid
What specific ions are balanced by the kidney?
Na+, Cl-, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, PO4 3- (they are all regulated independently of each other and all have their own range)
How does the kidney eliminate unwanted materials from the body?
Excretes end products of metabolism (such as urea (packaged ammonia) and creatinine (an energy byproduct, breakdown product of hemoglobin (heme) which makes urine yellow)); excretes foreign compounds (such as drugs or pesticides)
How does the kidney help maintain proper acid-base balance of the body?
Adjustments in urinary excretion of H+ (protons) and HCO3- (bicarbonate); in cases of a low pH we want to excrete H+ and retain HCO3-
Nephrons
Performs many functions of the kidney; specialized tubular structures, many in each kidney; contain different epithelial cell types, each with different distinct functions (form dictates function)
What hormones does the kidney
