Structural Anatomy
These bean-shaped organs are located in the retroperitoneal space and are the primary filters of the blood.
What are the Kidneys?
This "ball of capillaries" is the specific site where blood pressure forces fluid into the nephron.
What is the Glomerulus?
This is the medical term for the process of emptying the bladder.
What is Micturition?
The presence of this "sweet" substance in urine is often an early indicator of Diabetes Mellitus.
What is Glucose?
This wave-like muscle contraction is used by the ureters to move urine from the renal pelvis down to the bladder.
What is peristalsis?
This muscular sac serves as a temporary storage reservoir for urine before it is excreted.
What is the Urinary Bladder?
This C-shaped structure surrounds the glomerulus and catches the filtrate.
What is Bowman’s Capsule (or Glomerular Capsule)?
Secreted by the posterior pituitary, this hormone tells the kidneys to reabsorb more water when you are dehydrated.
What is ADH (Antidiuretic Hormone)?
These painful "stones" (calculi) can form when minerals like calcium crystallize in the renal pelvis.
What are Renal Calculi (Kidney Stones)?
This is the average pH of a normal urine sample.
What is 6.0?
These two tubes use peristalsis to move urine from the renal pelvis down to the bladder.
What are the Ureters?
Most of the "good stuff," like glucose and amino acids, is reabsorbed back into the blood in this specific part of the tubule.
What is the Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT)?
The three steps of urine formation are filtration, reabsorption, and this final step where wastes are moved from the blood into the tubule.
What is Secretion?
This procedure involves using a machine to filter a patient's blood when their kidneys have failed.
What is Hemodialysis?
To maintain high pressure in the glomerulus, this exiting blood vessel is much narrower than the afferent arteriole that feeds it.
What is the efferent arteriole?
This is the functional unit of the kidney, with over a million of them packed into the cortex and medulla.
What is the Nephron?
This U-shaped part of the nephron is critical for concentrating urine and recovering water and salt.
What is the Loop of Henle (Nephron Loop)?
The kidneys release this enzyme to help regulate blood pressure by initiating a "cascade" that eventually constricts blood vessels.
What is Renin?
Inflammation of the bladder, usually caused by a bacterial infection, is known by this medical name.
What is Cystitis?
These specialized cells in the nephron have "foot processes" that wrap around glomerular capillaries to form filtration slits.
What are podocytes?
This indentation on the medial side of the kidney is where the renal artery, renal vein, and ureter enter and exit.
What is the Hilum?
These specialized capillaries wrap around the nephron to reclaim water and solutes during reabsorption.
What are the Peritubular Capillaries?
This term refers to the volume of filtrate formed by both kidneys per minute, often used to check kidney health.
What is GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate)?
This nitrogenous waste product is a result of protein breakdown and is a key component of urine.
What is Urea?
The presence of this specific blood protein in a urine sample indicates that the kidney's filtration membrane is damaged.
What is Albumin?