Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The kidneys excrete a variety of waste products produced by metabolism into the urine. The microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney is the nephron. It processes the blood supplied to it via filtration, reabsorption, secretion and excretion; the consequence of those processes is the production of urine.
Diagram showing the basic physiologic mechanisms of the kidney The kidney's ability to perform many of its functions depends on the three fundamental functions of filtration , reabsorption , and secretion , whose sum is called renal clearance or renal excretion.
Diagram outlining movement of ions in nephron, with the collecting ducts on the right. The collecting duct system is the final component of the kidney to influence the body's electrolyte and fluid balance. In humans, the system accounts for 4–5% of the kidney's reabsorption of sodium and 5% of the kidney's reabsorption of water. At times of ...
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 ...
Fig.1) Schematic diagram of the nephron (yellow), relevant circulation (red/blue), and the four methods of altering the filtrate. 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:
The kidneys are a pair of organs of the excretory system in vertebrates, which maintain the balance of water and electrolytes in the body (osmoregulation), filter the blood, remove metabolic waste products, and, in many vertebrates, also produce hormones (in particular, renin) and maintain blood pressure.
Mammalian kidneys are susceptible to ischemic injury because mammals lack a renal-portal system, and as a result, vascular vasoconstriction in the glomeruli can lead to decreased blood supply to the entire kidney. The kidneys are susceptible to toxic injury, since toxins are reabsorbed in the tubules along with most of the filtered substances. [47]
Renal protein reabsorption is the part of renal physiology that deals with the retrieval of filtered proteins, preventing them from disappearing from the body through the urine. Almost all reabsorption takes place in the proximal tubule. Only ~1% [1] is left in the final urine. The proteins cross the apical membrane by endocytosis.