Urinary System Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from a lecture on the urinary system, osmoregulation, and kidney function.

Osmosis

Movement of water across a semipermeable membrane.

Osmoregulation

Water regulation in the body; balancing concentrations of body solutes (salts and sugars).

Hypotonic Solution

A solution with a lower solute concentration than inside a cell, causing water to move into the cell.

Hypertonic Solution

A solution with a higher solute concentration than inside a cell, causing water to move out of the cell.

Isotonic Solution

A solution with equal solute concentration inside and outside the cell, resulting in no net water movement.

Kidney

The main osmoregulatory organ that filters blood and removes wastes as urine.

Nephron

The functional unit of the kidney responsible for filtering blood and forming urine.

Renal Corpuscle

The filtering unit of the kidney, consisting of glomerular capillaries that filter out small items from the blood.

Kidney Filtrate

The fluid filtered out of blood by the renal corpuscle, including water, ions, amino acids, glucose, and nitrogenous wastes.

Renal Tubules

Part of the nephron where the composition of kidney filtrate is adjusted through reabsorption and secretion.

Collecting Duct

The final part of the nephron where urine is collected, and water and salt reabsorption occurs.

Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH)

A hormone that causes the kidney to conserve water by reabsorbing it into the blood.

Aldosterone

A hormone that causes the kidney to reabsorb Na+, leading to increased water reabsorption and blood volume/pressure.

Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP)

A hormone produced by heart cells that blocks aldosterone secretion, causing the kidney to excrete Na+ and H2O.

Hypertension

High blood pressure, which can damage blood vessels and lead to various health conditions.

Homeostasis

Maintaining a stable internal environment within a set range. Body temperature, blood pressure, blood pH, and oxygen levels are all carefully regulated

Semipermeable membranes

Cell membranes and serous membranes lining internal body cavities/organs that allow certain types of solutes and water to cross.

Net Water Movement

The process where water diffuses from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration through a semipermeable membrane until equilibrium is achieved.

Osmoconformers

Animals that cannot tolerate large changes in external osmolality.

Osmoregulators

Animals that can tolerate large changes in external osmolality.

Ammonia

Nitrogenous waste excreted by bony fish as a dilute solution

Urea

Nitrogenous waste excreted by mammals, amphibians, sharks, and some bony fish

Uric Acid

Nitrogenous waste excreted by birds, reptiles, and insects as a semi-solid paste

Maintenance of salt and water balance of body fluids (blood, lymph,