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The basic functional unit of the kidney is the nephron, of which there are more than a million within the cortex and medulla of each normal adult human kidney. Nephrons regulate water and soluble matter (especially electrolytes) in the body by first filtering the blood under pressure, and then reabsorbing some necessary fluid and molecules back into the blood while secreting other, unneeded molecules. Reabsorption and secretion are accomplished with both cotransport and countertransport mechanisms established in the nephrons and associated collecting ducts.
Collecting duct system
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The fluid flows from the nephron into the collecting duct system. This segment of the nephron is crucial to the process of water conservation by the organism. In the presence of antidiuretic hormone (ADH; also called vasopressin), these ducts become permeable to water and facilitate its reabsorption, thus concentrating the urine and reducing its volume. Conversely, when the organism must eliminate excess water, such as after excess fluid drinking, the production of ADH is decreased and the collecting tubule becomes less permeable to water, rendering urine dilute and abundant. Failure of the organism to decrease ADH production appropriately may lead to water retention and dangerous dilution of body fluids, which in turn may cause severe neurological damage. Failure to produce ADH (or inability of the collecting ducts to respond to it) may cause excessive urination, called diabetes insipidus.
After being processed along the collecting tubules and ducts, the fluid, now called urine, is drained into the bladder via the ureter, to be finally excluded from the organism.
Functions
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Excretion of waste products
The kidneys excrete a variety of waste products produced by metabolism, including the nitrogenous wastes: urea (from protein catabolism) and uric acid (from nucleic acid metabolism).
Homeostasis
Acid-Base Balance
The kidneys regulate the pH, by eliminating H ions concentration called augmentation mineral ion concentration, and water composition of the blood.
By exchanging hydronium ions and hydroxyl ions, the blood plasma is maintained by the kidney at a neutral pH 7.4. Urine, on the other hand, is acidic at pH 5 or alkaline at pH 8.
The pH is maintained through four main protein transporters: NHE3 (a sodium-hydrogen exchanger), V-type H-ATPase (an isoform of the hydrogen ATPase), NBC1 (a sodium-bicarbonate cotransporter) and AE1 (an anion exchanger which exchanges chloride for bicarbonate). Due to the polar alignment of cells in the renal epithelia NHE3 and the H-ATPase are exposed to the lumen (which is essentially outside the body), on the apical side of the cells, and are responsible for excreting hydrogen ions (or protons). Conversely, NBC1 and AE1 are on the basolateral side of the cells, and allow bicarbonate ions to move back into the extracellular fluid and thus are returned to the blood plasma.
Blood Pressure
Sodium ions are controlled in a homeostatic process involving aldosterone which increases sodium ion absorption in the distal convoluted tubules.
When blood pressure becomes low, a hormone called Renin is secreted by cells of the juxtaglomerular apparatus (part of the distal convoluted tubule) which are sensitive to pressure. Renin acts on a blood protein, angiotensinogen, converting it to angiotensin I. Angiotensin I is then converted by the Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in the lung capillaries to Angiotensin II, which stimulates the secretion of Aldosterone by the adrenal cortex, which then affects the kidney tubules.
Aldosterone stimulates an increase in the reabsorption of sodium ions from the kidney tubules which causes an increase in the volume of water that is reabsorbed from the tubule. This increase in water reabsorption increases the volume of blood which ultimately raises the blood pressure.
Plasma Volume
Any rise or drop in blood osmotic pressure due to a lack or excess of water is detected by the hypothalamus, which notifies the pituitary gland via negative feedback. A lack of water causes the posterior pituitary gland to secrete antidiuretic hormone, which results in water reabsorption and an increase in urine concentration. Tissue fluid concentration thus returns to a mean of 98%.
Hormone secretion
The kidneys secrete a variety of hormones, including erythropoietin, urodilatin and vitamin D.
Terms
- renal capsule: The membranous covering of the kidney.
- cortex: The outer layer over the internal medulla. It contains blood vessels, glomeruli (which are the kidneys' "filters") and urine tubes and is supported by a fibrous matrix.
- hilus: The opening in the middle of the concave medial border for nerves and blood vessels to pass into the renal sinus.
- renal column: The structures which support the cortex. They consist of lines of blood vessels and urinary tubes and a fibrous material.
- renal sinus: The cavity which houses the renal pyramids.
- calyces: The recesses in the internal medulla which hold the pyramids. They are used to subdivide the sections of the kidney. (singular - calyx)
- papillae: The small conical projections along the wall of the renal sinus. They have openings through which urine passes into the calyces. (singular - papilla)
- renal pyramids: The conical segments within the internal medulla. They contain the secreting apparatus and tubules and are also called malpighian pyramids.
- renal artery: Two renal arteries come from the aorta, each connecting to a kidney. The artery divides into five branches, each of which leads to a ball of capillaries. The arteries supply (unfiltered) blood to the kidneys. The left kidney receives about 60% of the renal bloodflow.
- renal vein: The filtered blood returns to circulation through the renal veins which join into the inferior vena cava.
- renal pelvis: Basically just a funnel, the renal pelvis accepts the urine and channels it out of the hilus into the ureter.
- ureter: A narrow tube 40 cm long and 4 mm in diameter. Passing from the renal pelvis out of the hilus and down to the bladder. The ureter carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder by means of peristalsis.
Diseases and disorders
Congenital
Acquired
The failing kidney
Generally, humans can live normally with just one kidney, as we have more functioning renal tissue than we need to survive, possibly due to the nature of the prehistoric human diet. Only when the amount of functioning kidney tissue is greatly diminished will chronic renal failure develop. If the glomerular filtration rate (a measure of renal function) has fallen very low (end-stage renal failure), or if the renal dysfunction leads to severe symptoms, then renal replacement therapy is indicated, either dialysis or renal transplantation.
Medical terminology
- Medical terms related to the kidneys involve the prefixes renal- and nephro-.
- Surgical removal of the kidney is a nephrectomy, while a radical nephrectomy is removal of the kidney, its surrounding tissue, lymph nodes, and potentially the adrenal gland. A radical nephrectomy is performed for the removal of cancers.
See also