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Medullary Interstitium
The renal medulla is the innermost part of the kidney. The renal medulla is split up into a number of sections, known as the renal pyramids. Blood enters into the kidney via the renal artery, which then splits up to form the segmental arteries which then branch to form interlobar arteries. The interlobar arteries each in turn branch into arcuate arteries, which in turn branch to form interlobular arteries, and these finally reach the glomeruli. At the glomerulus the blood reaches a highly disfavourable pressure gradient and a large exchange surface area, which forces the serum portion of the blood out of the vessel and into the renal tubules. Flow continues through the renal tubules, including the proximal tubule, the Loop of Henle, through the distal tubule and finally leaves the kidney by means of the collecting duct, leading to the renal pelvis, the dilated portion of the ureter. The renal medulla (Latin: ''medulla renis'' 'marrow of the kidney') contains the structures of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parenchyma
Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ or structure such as a tumour. In zoology it is the name for the tissue that fills the interior of flatworms. Etymology The term ''parenchyma'' is New Latin from the word παρέγχυμα ''parenchyma'' meaning 'visceral flesh', and from παρεγχεῖν ''parenchyma'' meaning 'to pour in' from παρα- ''para-'' 'beside' + ἐν ''en-'' 'in' + χεῖν ''chyma'' 'to pour'. Originally, Erasistratus and other anatomists used it to refer to certain human tissues. Later, it was also applied to plant tissues by Nehemiah Grew. Structure The parenchyma is the ''functional'' parts of an organ, or of a structure such as a tumour in the body. This is in contrast to the stroma, which refers to the ''structural'' tissue of organs or of structures, namely, the connective tissues. Brain The brain parenchyma refers to the functional tissue in the brain that is made up of the two types of brain cell, neurons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proximal Tubule
The proximal tubule is the segment of the nephron in kidneys which begins from the renal pole of the Bowman's capsule to the beginning of loop of Henle. It can be further classified into the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) and the proximal straight tubule (PST). Structure The most distinctive characteristic of the proximal tubule is its luminal brush border. Brush border cell The luminal surface of the epithelial cells of this segment of the nephron is covered with densely packed microvilli forming a border readily visible under the light microscope giving the brush border cell its name. The microvilli greatly increase the luminal surface area of the cells, presumably facilitating their reabsorptive function as well as putative flow sensing within the lumen. The cytoplasm of the cells is densely packed with mitochondria, which are largely found in the basal region within the infoldings of the basal plasma membrane. The high quantity of mitochondria gives the cells an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renal Pyramid
The renal medulla is the innermost part of the kidney. The renal medulla is split up into a number of sections, known as the renal pyramids. Blood enters into the kidney via the renal artery, which then splits up to form the segmental arteries which then branch to form interlobar arteries. The interlobar arteries each in turn branch into arcuate arteries, which in turn branch to form interlobular arteries, and these finally reach the glomeruli. At the glomerulus the blood reaches a highly disfavourable pressure gradient and a large exchange surface area, which forces the serum portion of the blood out of the vessel and into the renal tubules. Flow continues through the renal tubules, including the proximal tubule, the Loop of Henle, through the distal tubule and finally leaves the kidney by means of the collecting duct, leading to the renal pelvis, the dilated portion of the ureter. The renal medulla (Latin: ''medulla renis'' 'marrow of the kidney') contains the structures of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inner Medullary Collecting Duct
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 system is the last part of nephron and participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone). There are several components of the collecting duct system, including the connecting tubules, cortical collecting ducts, and medullary collecting ducts. Structure Segments The segments of the system are as follows: Connecting tubule With respect to the renal corpuscle, the connecting tubule (CNT, or junctional tubule, or arcuate renal tubule) is the most proximal part of the collecting duct system. It is adjacent to the distal convoluted tubule, the most distal segment of the renal tubule. Connecting tubules from several adjacent nephrons merge to form cortical collecting tubules, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urea
Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important role in the metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds by animals and is the main nitrogen-containing substance in the urine of mammals. It is a colorless, odorless solid, highly soluble in water, and practically non-toxic ( is 15 g/kg for rats). Dissolved in water, it is neither acidic nor alkaline. The body uses it in many processes, most notably nitrogen excretion. The liver forms it by combining two ammonia molecules () with a carbon dioxide () molecule in the urea cycle. Urea is widely used in fertilizers as a source of nitrogen (N) and is an important raw material for the chemical industry. In 1828 Friedrich Wöhler discovered that urea can be produced from inorganic starting materials, which was an important conceptual miles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collecting Duct System
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 system is the last part of nephron and participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone). There are several components of the collecting duct system, including the connecting tubules, cortical collecting ducts, and medullary collecting ducts. Structure Segments The segments of the system are as follows: Connecting tubule With respect to the renal corpuscle, the connecting tubule (CNT, or junctional tubule, or arcuate renal tubule) is the most proximal part of the collecting duct system. It is adjacent to the distal convoluted tubule, the most distal segment of the renal tubule. Connecting tubules from several adjacent nephrons merge to form cortical collecting tubules ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thin Descending Limb Of The Loop Of Henle
Within the nephron of the kidney, the descending limb of loop of Henle is the portion of the renal tubule constituting the first part of the loop of Henle. Physiology The permeability is as follows: Also, the medullary interstitium is highly concentrated (because of the activity of the ascending limb), leading to a strong osmotic gradient from the descending limb to the medulla. Because of these factors, the concentration of the urine increases dramatically in the descending limb. Osmolality can reach up to 1400 mOsmol/kg by the end of the descending limb. Histology The epithelium of the Thick segment is low simple cuboidal epithelium. The epithelium of the Thin segment is simple squamous. They can be distinguished from the vasa recta by the absence of blood, and they can be distinguished from the thick ascending limb by the thickness of the epithelium. Nomenclature Like the ascending limb, the descending limb has thick and thin portions. However, this distinction is not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonicity
In chemical biology, tonicity is a measure of the effective osmotic pressure gradient; the water potential of two solutions separated by a partially-permeable cell membrane. Tonicity depends on the relative concentration of selective membrane-impermeable solutes across a cell membrane which determine the direction and extent of osmotic flux. It is commonly used when describing the swelling-versus-shrinking response of cells immersed in an external solution. Unlike osmotic pressure, tonicity is influenced only by solutes that cannot cross the membrane, as only these exert an effective osmotic pressure. Solutes able to freely cross the membrane do not affect tonicity because they will always equilibrate with equal concentrations on both sides of the membrane without net solvent movement. It is also a factor affecting imbibition. There are three classifications of tonicity that one solution can have relative to another: ''hypertonic'', ''hypotonic'', and ''isotonic''.A hypotonic s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loop Of Henle
In the kidney, the loop of Henle () (or Henle's loop, Henle loop, nephron loop or its Latin counterpart ''ansa nephroni'') is the portion of a nephron that leads from the proximal convoluted tubule to the distal convoluted tubule. Named after its discoverer, the German anatomist Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, the loop of Henle's main function is to create a concentration gradient in the medulla of the kidney. By means of a countercurrent multiplier system, which uses electrolyte pumps, the loop of Henle creates an area of high urea concentration deep in the medulla, near the papillary duct in the collecting duct system. Water present in the filtrate in the papillary duct flows through aquaporin channels out of the duct, moving passively down its concentration gradient. This process reabsorbs water and creates a concentrated urine for excretion. Structure The loop of Henle can be divided into four parts: *Thin descending limb of loop of Henle :The thin descending limb has low per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasa Rectae
The vasa recta of the kidney, (vasa recta renis) are the straight arterioles, and the straight venules of the kidney, – a series of blood vessels in the blood supply of the kidney that enter the medulla as the straight arterioles, and leave the medulla to ascend to the cortex as the straight venules. (Latin: ''vās'', "vessel"; ''rēctus'', "straight"). They lie parallel to the loop of Henle. These vessels branch off the efferent arterioles of juxtamedullary nephrons (those nephrons closest to the medulla). They enter the medulla, and surround the loop of Henle. Whereas the peritubular capillaries surround the cortical parts of the tubules, the vasa recta go into the medulla and are closer to the loop of Henle, and leave to ascend to the cortex. Terminations of the vasa recta form the straight venules, branches from the plexuses at the apices of the medullary pyramids. They run outward in a straight course between the tubes of the medullary substance and join the interlobula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nephron
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. The renal tubule extends from the capsule. The capsule and tubule are connected and are composed of epithelial cells with a lumen. A healthy adult has 1 to 1.5 million nephrons in each kidney. Blood is filtered as it passes through three layers: the endothelial cells of the capillary wall, its basement membrane, and between the foot processes of the podocytes of the lining of the capsule. The tubule has adjacent peritubular capillaries that run between the descending and ascending portions of the tubule. As the fluid from the capsule flows down into the tubule, it is processed by the epithelial cells lining the tubule: water is reabsorbed and substances are exchanged (some are added, others are removed); first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ureter
The ureters are tubes made of smooth muscle that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In a human adult, the ureters are usually long and around in diameter. The ureter is lined by urothelial cells, a type of transitional epithelium, and has an additional smooth muscle layer that assists with peristalsis in its lowest third. The ureters can be affected by a number of diseases, including urinary tract infections and kidney stone. is when a ureter is narrowed, due to for example chronic inflammation. Congenital abnormalities that affect the ureters can include the development of two ureters on the same side or abnormally placed ureters. Additionally, reflux of urine from the bladder back up the ureters is a condition commonly seen in children. The ureters have been identified for at least two thousand years, with the word "ureter" stemming from the stem relating to urinating and seen in written records since at least the time of Hippocrates. It is, however, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
