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The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney.It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule.The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structure called Bowman's capsule.
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.
Urinary casts are microscopic cylindrical structures produced by the kidney and present in the urine in certain disease states. They form in the distal convoluted tubule and collecting ducts of nephrons , then dislodge and pass into the urine, where they can be detected by microscopy .
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).
Microtubule: a microscopically small tubule [2] Proximal convoluted tubule: the portion of the nephron immediately after the glomerulus; Renal tubule: the minute canals made up of basement membrane and lined with epithelium, composing the substance of the kidney and secreting, reabsorbing, collecting and conducting the urine.
Among the anomalies of kidney development are hypoplasia and dysplasia of the kidneys (dysplasia can be unilateral or bilateral), agenesis (absence) of one or both kidneys, polycystic kidney disease, simple renal cysts, perirenal pseudocysts, doubled or tripled renal arteries, malposition of the kidneys, horseshoe kidney and nephroblastoma. [184]
The medical history takes into account present and past symptoms, especially those of kidney disease; recent infections; exposure to substances toxic to the kidney; and family history of kidney disease. Kidney function is tested by using blood tests and urine tests. The most common blood tests are creatinine, urea and electrolytes.
The first step in urine formation is the filtration of blood in the kidneys. In a healthy human, the kidney receives between 12 and 30% of cardiac output, but it averages about 20% or about 1.25 L/min. The basic structural and functional unit of the kidney is the nephron.