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The vasa recta of the kidney, (vasa recta renis) are the straight arterioles, and the straight venules of the kidney, – a series of blood vessels in the blood supply of the kidney that enter the medulla as the straight arterioles, and leave the medulla to ascend to the cortex as the straight venules.
Within the nephron of the kidney, the ascending limb of the loop of Henle is a segment of the heterogenous loop of Henle downstream of the descending limb, after the sharp bend of the loop. This part of the renal tubule is divided into a thin and thick ascending limb ; the thick portion is also known as the distal straight tubule , in contrast ...
Flow of the fluid through the entire loop of Henle is considered slow. As flow increases, the ability of the loop to maintain its osmolar gradient is reduced. The vasa recta (capillary loops) also have a slow flow as well. Increases in vasa recta flow wash away metabolites and cause the medulla to lose osmolarity as well.
Vasa recta are straight arteries arising from arterial arcades (anastomoses of the jejunal and ileal arteries, branches of superior mesenteric artery) in the mesentery of the jejunum and ileum that supply the jejunum and ileum. [1] The vasa recta of the jejunum are long and few, compared to the ileum where they are numerous and short.
Within the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle, the distal convoluted tubule begins immediately following the macula densa. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The macula densa's detection of elevated sodium chloride, which leads to a decrease in GFR, is based on the concept of purinergic signaling .
The descending vasa recta, ascending vasa recta vessels, and the loop of Henle together form the countercurrent system of the kidney. In the afferent arteriole, blood is supplied at high pressure, which promotes filtration, and in the efferent arteriole, it is at low pressure, which promotes reabsorption .
In the kidney, the macula densa is an area of closely packed specialized cells lining the wall of the distal tubule where it touches the glomerulus.Specifically, the macula densa is found in the terminal portion of the distal straight tubule (thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle), after which the distal convoluted tubule begins.
When renal blood flow is reduced (indicating hypotension) or there is a decrease in sodium or chloride ion concentration, the macula densa of the distal tubule releases prostaglandins (mainly PGI2 and PGE2) and nitric oxide, which cause the juxtaglomerular cells lining the afferent arterioles to release renin, activating the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, to increase blood pressure ...