Microanatomy of the kidney

what are the two poles of the glomerulus

the vascular pole and the urinary pole

what are the 3 layers of the glomerulus

the endothelium

the basal lamina

podocytes (not strictly part)

what makes up the parietal layer of the bowman’s capsule

impenetrable squamous epithelum

what do foot processes contain

microfilaments and microtubules

what are the 4 functions of podocytes

slit pore diaphragm - glomerular filtration

support glomerular capillaries

respond to hormones and growth factors in the glomerulus

work with mesangial cells on glomerular structure and function

what are the 4 functions of intraglomerular mesangial cells

phagocytosis

vasoconstriction

produce glomerular extracellular matrix to form mesangium with them for structure

produce cytokines so more cells in infection

what are the four cells making up the juxtaglomerular apparatus

extra-glomerular mesangial cells

macula densa

granula (juxtaglomerular) cells

smooth muscle cells

what sort of cells are juxtaglomerular cells

modified smooth muscle cells

what is the epithelium of the thin areas of the loop of Henle

simple squamous

what is the epithelium of the papillary duct and where is it

the distal end of the collecting tubule and has simple columnar or pseudostratified columnar

what are the main differences between the PCT and DCT epithelium

the PCT has microvilli and the DCT doesn’t

the PCT has columnar and the DCT has cuboidal

the PCT stains darkly purple due to mitochondria and the DCT has little cytoplasm so looks like lots of nuclei

what sort of nephrons do birds have

cortical reptilian ones without a loop of Henle

medullary mammalian ones with a loop of Henle

what is the glycocalyx and what is its function

it is the extra layer on the luminal endothelial cells of the glomerular tuft for a strong and functional vascular endothelium to filter the substances that shouldn’t leave the blood

what are the two surfaces of the endothelium

luminal - glycocalyx

abluminal - podocytes