What is the urinary system of mammals comprised of?
What type of organ is the kidney?
What are the tubular organs of the urinary system?
What are the different functions of kidneys?
How do kidneys eliminate metabolic waste?
What biologically active molecules does the kidney produce? State their names.
hormones:
- erythropoietin
- renin
- angiotensin II
What function are the kidneys associated with?
the excretory function
Why are kidneys classified as “highly vascular organs”?
they recieve 20-25% of the cardiac output
(large volume of blood continuously rushes through the kidneys).
What is the name of the kidneys functional component?
the nephron
What is initially seperated from the blood in the kidneys (nephrons)? What does it form?
plasma is seperated from cells and large proteins forming primary urine.
What happens to primary urine once it is formed?
Primary urine passes through tubules where it is additionally filtrated.
What is formed from primary urine, after it is filtered? What is it composed of?
final urine:
- water
- electrolytes
- many waste products: urea, uric acid, and creatonin.
What is reabsorbed in the kidneys? What is it called? Where does it go?
reabsorbed back to the blood
“clean blood” exits the kidney
What is erythropoietin?
Why is erythropoietin produced?
What is renin? What is its function?
Explain the structure of the kidney.
organised into lobes
- pyramidal structure
What do the kidneys have as an outer layer? What is it composed of? What is its function?
tough fibrous capsule:
- made of irregular dense connective tissue
- for protection
How much connective tissue is present between the kidney nephrons?
What is the kidneys outer region called? What is its appearance? Why?
cortex:
- granular
- full of ovoid filtration units
Why is the cortex granular?
it is full of ovoid filtration units
What is the inner region of the kidney called? What type of appearance does it have?
medulla:
- striated appearance
What is the kidney organised into? What are their structures? Explain their composition.
organised into lobes:
- pyramidal structure
- outer portion: cortex
- inner portion: medulla
What is an exceptional feature of the kidney? What does this further mean?
The tough fibrous capsule is not branched!
- does not have branches or trabecules going deeper into the organs lobes/lobules
this means that there are very little stroma components deeper to the capsule.
–> most of the organ is composed of PARENCHYMA