- the kidneys: remove waste products from the blood, maintain blood pH, and regulate the water content of the blood & blood volume
- kidneys (either side of the spinal column near the lower back)
- a tube (ureter) leaves each kidney, carrying urine to the urinary bladder (saclike organ where urine is stored before excreted)
- blood enters kidney through renal artery
- kidney removes urea, excess water, & other waste products and passes them to ureter
- clean, filtered blood leaves the kidney through renal vein & returns to circulation
- renal medulla: inner part of kidney
- renal cortex: outer part of kidney
- functional units of the kidney are called nephrons
- nephrons are located in the renal cortex, except for their loops of Henle, which descend into the renal
medulla
- each nephron has its own blood supply: arteriole, venule, network of capillaries connecting them
- each nephron releases fluids to a collecting duct -> leads to the ureter.
- blood enters a nephron through the arteriole -> impurities are filtered out and emptied into the collecting duct
- purified blood exits the nephron through the venule
- blood purification involves filtration and reabsorption
- filtration (happens in glomerulus): passing a liquid or gas through a filter to remove wastes
- glomerulus is a small network of capillaries encased in the top of the nephron by a hollow, cup-
shaped structure called Bowman's capsule
- fluid from blood flows into Bowman’s capsule
- materials filtered from the blood include water, urea, glucose, salts, amino acids, & some vitamins
- plasma proteins, cells, and platelets remain in the blood b/c they are too large to pass through
capillary walls
- reabsorption: process in which liquid is taken back into a vessel
- almost 99% of the water that enters Bowman’s capsule is reabsorbed into the blood
- filtrate drains in the collecting ducts -> most water and nutrients have been reabsorbed into the blood
- remaining material (urine) is emptied into a collecting duct
- urine is primarily concentrated in the loop of Henle (a section of the nephron tubule
where water is conserved & volume of urine minimized)
- kidney works -> purified blood is returned to circulation while urine is collected in the urinary
bladder
- urine is stored here until released from the body through a tube called urethra