Large Scale Kidney Anatomy

This set of flashcards covers essential vocabulary related to large scale kidney anatomy.

Retroperitoneal

Refers to the position of the kidneys outside the peritoneal cavity, leading to protective layers around them.

Renal Cortex

The outer region of the kidney that houses most of the blood vessels and filtration structures.

Renal Medulla

The inner region of the kidney that contains renal pyramids where the filtrate is modified.

Renal Pyramids

Structures in the renal medulla where filtrate is modified before becoming urine.

Renal Pelvis

The central area of the kidney where urine collects after modification and is lined with smooth muscle.

Nephron

The basic structural and functional unit of the kidney responsible for filtering blood to form filtrate and modifying it to urine.

Afferent Arteriole

The arterial that brings blood into the nephron and flows into the glomerulus.

Glomerulus

The first capillary bed in the nephron responsible for the filtration of blood.

Efferent Arteriole

The arterial that drains blood out of the glomerulus to the next capillary bed.

Peritubular Capillaries

The second capillary bed surrounding the renal tubules responsible for exchanging substances between blood and filtrate.

Portal System

A system in which blood flows from one capillary bed to another before rejoining systemic circulation; modified in the kidneys.

Filtrate

The fluid formed from the filtered blood in the kidneys before it is modified into urine.