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The glomerulus (pl.: glomeruli) is a network of small blood vessels (capillaries) known as a tuft, located at the beginning of a nephron in the kidney. Each of the two kidneys contains about one million nephrons. The tuft is structurally supported by the mesangium (the space between the blood vessels), composed of intraglomerular mesangial cells.
This illustration demonstrates the normal kidney physiology, including the Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT), Loop of Henle, and Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT). It also includes illustrations showing where some types of diuretics act, and what they do. Renal physiology (Latin renes, "kidneys") is the study of the physiology of the kidney.
The kidney has many functions, which a well-functioning kidney realizes by filtering blood in a process known as glomerular filtration. A major measure of kidney function is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The glomerular filtration rate is the flow rate of filtered fluid through the kidney.
The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. [3] This means that each separate nephron is where the main work of the kidney is performed. A nephron is made of two parts: a renal corpuscle, which is the initial filtering component, and; a renal tubule that processes and carries away the filtered fluid. [4]: 1024
The renal corpuscle is composed of two structures, the glomerulus and the Bowman's capsule. [3] The glomerulus is a small tuft of capillaries containing two cell types. . Endothelial cells, which have large fenestrae, are not covered by dia
The foot processes have an actin-based cytoskeleton. [6] Podocytes are found lining the Bowman's capsules in the nephrons of the kidney. The pedicels or foot processes wrap around the glomerular capillaries to form the filtration slits. [7] The pedicels increase the surface area of the cells enabling efficient ultrafiltration. [8]
The size of the largest particles that can successfully pass through a filter is called the effective pore size of that filter. The separation of solid and fluid is imperfect; solids will be contaminated with some fluid and filtrate will contain fine particles (depending on the pore size, filter thickness and biological activity).
The adjective renal, meaning related to the kidney, is from the Latin rēnēs, meaning kidneys; the prefix nephro-is from the Ancient Greek word for kidney, nephros (νεφρός). [37] For example, surgical removal of the kidney is a nephrectomy , while a reduction in kidney function is called renal dysfunction .