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Proper function of the kidney requires that it receives and adequately filters blood. This is performed at the microscopic level by many hundreds of thousands of filtration units called renal corpuscles , each of which is composed of a glomerulus and a Bowman's capsule .
The kidney participates in whole-body homeostasis, regulating acid–base balance, electrolyte concentrations, extracellular fluid volume, and blood pressure. The kidney accomplishes these homeostatic functions both independently and in concert with other organs, particularly those of the endocrine system.
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.
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
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 5 February 2025. This article is about the human urinary system. For urinary systems of other vertebrates, see Urinary systems of birds, urinary systems of reptiles, and urinary systems of amphibians. Anatomical system consisting of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and the urethra Urinary system 1 ...
Slow continuous ultrafiltration (SCUF) is an artificial method which approximately mimics the ultrafiltration function of the kidneys. SCUF is a continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) generally used to remove fluid from fluid overloaded patients with acute kidney failure .
A renal corpuscle (or Malpighian body [1]) is the blood-filtering component of the nephron of the kidney. It consists of a glomerulus - a tuft of capillaries composed of endothelial cells - and a glomerular capsule known as Bowman's capsule .