Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The kidneys have two cells that help to maintain acid-base homeostasis: intercalated A and B cells. The intercalated A cells are stimulated when the body is experiencing acidic conditions. Under acidic conditions, the high concentration of CO 2 in the blood creates a gradient for CO 2 to move into the cell and push the reaction HCO 3 + H ↔ H ...
Humans have two kidneys that are supplied with blood from the renal artery. The kidneys remove from the blood the nitrogenous wastes such as urea, as well as salts and excess water, and excrete them in the form of urine. This is done with the help of millions of nephrons present in the kidney.
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 human urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra.The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressure, control levels of electrolytes and metabolites, and regulate blood pH.
The unipapillary kidney with a single renal pyramid is the simplest type of kidney in mammals, from which the more structurally complex kidneys are believed to have evolved. [ 17 ] [ 6 ] [ 18 ] Differences in kidney structure are the result of adaptations during evolution to variations in body mass and habitats (in particular, aridity ) between ...
Unlike mammals, the kidneys of reptiles do not have a clear distinction between cortex and medulla. [43] The kidneys lack the loop of Henle, have fewer nephrons (from about 3,000 to 30,000), and cannot produce hypertonic urine. [3] [21] Nitrogenous waste products excreted by the kidneys may include uric acid, urea and ammonia. [55]
All vertebrates have two kidneys located behind the abdomen that produce urine, and have a way of excreting it, so that waste products within the urine can be removed from the body. [24] The structure specifically called the ureter is present in amniotes , meaning mammals , birds and reptiles . [ 24 ]
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.