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The renal calyces (sg. calyx) are conduits in the kidney through which urine passes. The minor calyces form a cup-shaped drain around the apex of the renal pyramids.Urine formed in the kidney passes through a renal papilla at the apex into the minor calyx; four or five minor calyces converge to form a major calyx through which urine passes into the renal pelvis (which in turn drains urine out ...
The tip, or papilla, of each pyramid empties urine into a minor calyx; minor calyces empty into major calyces, and major calyces empty into the renal pelvis. This becomes the ureter. At the hilum, the ureter and renal vein exit the kidney and the renal artery enters. Hilar fat and lymphatic tissue with lymph nodes surround these structures.
The renal pelvis is the location of several kinds of kidney cancer and is affected by infection in pyelonephritis. [citation needed] A large "staghorn" kidney stone may block all or part of the renal pelvis. The size of the renal pelvis plays a major role in the grading of hydronephrosis.
The formation of urine begins within the functional unit of the kidney, the nephrons. Urine then flows through the nephrons, through a system of converging tubules called collecting ducts. These collecting ducts then join to form the minor calyces, followed by the major calyces that ultimately join the renal pelvis. From here, urine continues ...
Bovine kidneys also lack renal pelvis, urine from the major calyces is excreted directly into the ureter. [87] Kidneys can be unipapillary, [14] as in rats and mice, [88] with few renal papillae, as in spider monkeys, or with many, as in pigs and humans. [14] Most animals have single renal papilla. [14]
The collecting duct system of the kidney consists of a series of tubules and ducts that physically connect nephrons to a minor calyx or directly to the renal pelvis.The collecting duct participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone).
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.
Despite their relatively small size, the kidneys receive approximately 20% of the cardiac output. [ 1 ] Each renal artery branches into segmental arteries, dividing further into interlobar arteries , which penetrate the renal capsule and extend through the renal columns between the renal pyramids.