Big Picture
These pair of organs help filter the blood, regulate ion concentrations, and produce hormones.
What are the kidneys?
This supplies blood flow to the kidneys
What is the renal artery?
This cup-like sack is the first step of the body to filter the blood and form urine.
What is the Bowman's Capsule?
This tubule is closest to the glomerulus and is responsible for most of the reabsorption and secretion that occurs in the tubules.
What is the proximal convoluted tubule?
This portion starts bigger and becomes thin.
What is the descending loop?
This is the muscular tube that connects the pelvis of the kidney to the bladder.
What is the ureter?
This carries blood out of the kidney and back to the inferior vena cava.
What is the renal vein?
The ultrafiltrate leaves the glomerulus to enter this tubule.
What is the proximal collecting duct?
This tubule is the furthest away from the glomerulus and is influenced by several hormones for absorption and secretion.
What is the distal convoluted tubule?
This portion starts thin and becomes bigger.
What is the ascending loop?
The functional unit of the kidney responsible for urine formation.
What is the nephron?
This enters the glomerulus to supply blood to the glomerulus.
What is the Afferent arteriole?
This vascular cellular layer contains endothelial cells with pores to increase capillary permeability but large molecules and cells are blocked.
What is the capillary wall?
The tubules from all the nephrons join together here for final urine concentration and to carry the urine to the renal calyx.
What are the collecting ducts?
These are the capillaries that surround the Loop of Henley.
This is where urine is stored and bacteria convert nitrate to nitrite.
What is the bladder?
These different sized vessels assist in maintaining hydrostatic pressure as it leaves the glomerulus.
What is the Efferent arteriole?
This cellular layer separates the epithelium of the vascular glomerulus capillaries from the epithelium of the urinary space.
What is the basement membrane?
The PCT and DCT are both located in this layer or lobe of the kidney.
What is the cortex?
The loop of Henle extends down into this layer or lobe of the kidney, unlike the PCT and DCT.
What is the medulla?
The cavity area that collects urine from the calyces for transport from the kidney to the ureter.
What is the renal pelvis?
This is the vascular network that surrounds the proximal and convoluted tubules.
What is peritubular capillaries?
This cellular layer contains intertwining podocytes and filtration slits.
What is the Bowman's capsule inner layer?
The distal convoluted tubule comes into contact with the arterioles of the glomerulus to form this apparatus to help regulate arteriole size.
What is the juxtaglomerular apparatus?
This type of nephron has the longest loops of Henle that extend down deep and specialize in urine concentration.
What is the juxtamedullary nephron?