kidneys

• Urinary System


  Consists of kidneys and urinary tract, (ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra) maintaining homeostasis
• Metabolic Wastes


  Chemicals produced by the body, unusable for any purpose
• Erythropoietin


  Hormone regulating blood cell formation, produced by kidneys
• Retroperitoneal


  Situated behind the peritoneal membranes, like the kidneys
• Renal Cortex


  Most superficial kidney region and has a dark brown color as it consists of many blood vessels that serve tiny blood-filtering structures (nephrons)
• Renal Medulla


  Middle kidney region with triangular renal pyramids and columns
• Renal Pelvis


  Innermost kidney region which serves as a basin for collecting urine
• Nephrons


  more than a million tiny blood-filtering units composing the kidney
• Glomerulus


  Ball of capillaries where blood is filtered in the kidney
• Peritubular Capillaries


  Capillaries surrounding tubules of the nephron, where they provide them with oxygen and nutrients while also take substances reabsorbed by the tubules back into the blood
• Renal Arteries


  Deliver 1,200 ml/min blood to the kidney for filtration
• Renal Vein


  Large vein draining blood from the kidney
• Renal Corpuscle


  Part of nephron with glomerulus and glomerular capsule
• Fenestrated Capillaries


  Capillaries with large slits or pores allowing large volumes of fluid to rapidly exit them
• Afferent Arterioles


  Branch from interlobular arteries, supplies glomerulus
• Efferent Arteriole


  The second arteriole that branches to form peritubular capillarries
• Adipose Capsule


  Thick layer of adipose tissue that wedges kidneys in place
• Renal Fascia


  A layer of dense irregular collagenous connective tissue anchoring kidneys to the posterior abdominal wall and peritoneum
• Renal Columns


  separate the renal pyramids from one another by inward extensions of the renal cortex
• Renal Papilla


  End or tip of a renal pyramid
• Renal Capsule


  A very thin layer of dense irregular collagenous connective tissue that encases each kidney like plastic wrap
• Renal Pyramids


  triangular-shaped areas of tissue in the medulla of the kidney
• Minor Calyces


  Tubes draining fluid from renal papilla and draining into even larger major calyces
• Major Calyces


  Drain into the kidney's innermost region (renal pelvis)
• Glomerular Capsule


  Second part of renal corpuscle with parietal (simple squamous epithelium) and visceral layers (podocytes)
• Capsular Space


  Space between parietal and visceral layers of glomerular capsule
• Podocytes


  Cells in the inner visceral layer of glomerular capsule that surround the capillaries of the glomerulus
• Filtration Membrane


  Structure formed by glomerular endothelial cells, podocytes, and basal lamina
• Renal Tubule


  Part of kidney resembling 'plumbing', consisting of proximal, loop, and distal parts which is confined to the renal cortex; only the nephron loop of certain nephrons dip down into the medulla
• Collecting Duct


  a larger collecting system that is not part of the nephron and in the renal cortex