The Kidneys

Created by

mylo

Cards (16)

What are kidneys?
Filters to 'clean' the blood
How do kidneys produce urine?
Filtering waste products out of your blood
What is the process of the kidneys taking waste products out of your blood?
Filtration
What substances are absorbed back into the blood from urine?
Glucose
Some ions
Water
What is the process of useful substances being absorbed back into the blood from urine?
Selective reabsorbtion
What substances make up urine?
Urea
Ions
Water
How is urea made?
Proteins and amino acids are converted into fats and carbohydrates in the liver
Ammonia is produced as a waste product
Ammonia is converted into urea in the liver and then transported to the kidneys
How and why are ions removed from the body?
Ions are taken into the body in food
If ion content in the body is wrong this could upset ion and water balance, damaging cells
Some are lost in sweat but this isn't regulated
The right amount of ions are reabsorbed after filtration
The rest is removed in urine
Why is water removed from the body in urine?
The body has to constantly balance water coming against water going out
We lose water in sweat and from the lungs
We can't control this so amount of water is balanced by what we consume and the amount removed as urine
Why are proteins and amino acids converted into fats and carbohydrates in the liver? 
Because the body can't store them
What is the name for the process of converting proteins and amino acids into fats and carbohydrates?
Deamination
Why is ammonia converted to urea in the liver?
Ammonia is toxic
Why is have too much or too little water damaging to cells?
Because the cells will absorb too much through osmosis and burst or too little and they will stop working
What hormone controls urine concentration?
Anti-diuretic hormone or ADH
What releases ADH?
The pituitary gland
What monitors water content in blood and orders the pituitary gland to produce ADH?
The brain