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Chapter 14 Renal Physiology revised 2 August 2012
What are the functions of the kidneys?
Which hormones are secreted from the kidneys and what do these hormones regulate?
What is the difference between a ureter and a urethra?
Describe the components of a renal corpuscle.
As substances pass from the blood to Bowman’s space, what barriers are encountered?
List in order the segments of the nephron. Which are usually combined for the purpose
of discussion because of similarity of function?
Which portion of the kidney has all the renal corpuscles? Which region consists of loops
of Henle and collecting ducts?
What is unusual about the vascular arrangement in the kidneys?
What and where are the components of the juxtaglomerular apparatus? Which cells
secrete renin?
What three factors stimulate renin secretion?
In what ways does the composition of the glomerular filtrate differ from plasma?
Approximately what percentage of plasma becomes ultrafiltrate during a single pass
through the kidneys?
Once a substance is filtered into Bowman’s space, what are the several possibilities for its
fate?
How is it possible for something such as glucose, which is freely filtered in the
glomerulus, not to be excreted in the urine?
Why don’t proteins and cells become part of the ultrafiltrate?
What is GFR?
What properties of the glomerulus account for filtration in glomerular capillaries to be so
drastically large in comparison to other systemic capillaries? Which Starling force is
responsible for the massive filtration that occurs in the glomerulus?
How do changes in the radii of the afferent and efferent arterioles affect hydrostatic
pressure in the glomerular capillary and thus GFR?
What property of inulin and creatinine make them useful for evaluating kidney function?
Explain the meaning of this statement: The kidneys do not regulate the plasma
concentration of glucose.
Glomerular filtration is by bulk flow. Tubular reabsorption is accomplished by other
processes. What are they?
How is sodium reabsorbed through the tubular epithelium?
Why is the reabsorption of Na+ so important for other substances like glucose and amino
acids?
What happens to the composition of urine when the filtered load of glucose exceeds the
tubular transport maximum for glucose? What becomes “saturated” during this
phenomenon?
What are the most important ions or molecules that undergo tubular secretion?
What is the primary role of the proximal tubule?
What is the primary role of the loop of Henle?
Which portions (segments) of the nephron are most influenced by hormones for fine
tuning secretion and reabsorption for homeostatic purposes?
What is the definition of “clearance” in regard to kidney function?
What substance normally found in the plasma can be used to approximate GFR?
For a substance that undergoes net tubular secretion, how does the clearance of that
substance compare to GFR?
For a substance that undergoes net tubular reabsorption, how does the clearance of that
substance compare to GFR?
What types of muscles comprise the detrussor and the internal and external urethral
sphincters?
What is the state of contraction of each of those muscles during bladder filling? During
micturition?
In which segment of the nephron does the majority of sodium and water reabsorption
occur?
In which segment of the nephron is sodium and water reabsorption under hormonal
control?
What do all tubular cells have in their basolateral membranes for sodium transport?
Once materials have crossed the tubular cells and arrive in the interstitial fluid outside the
peritubular capillaries, by what process does entry into the capillaries occur?
What are aquaporins?
Which segment(s) of the nephron have tubular cells with vasopressin receptors?
What effect does vasopressin have on those tubular cells?
What are the symptoms in persons with diabetes insipidus?
What is the range over which urine can be concentration (in mOsm?)
What is the function of the loop of Henle?
Contrast the properties of the ascending and descending loops of Henle with respect to
water and salt permeability.
What is the osmolarity of the tubular fluid as it reaches the beginning of the distal
convoluted tubule?
Why aren’t kidneys a typical food item in the US?
What are the vasa recta and what are their functions?
What is the variable that is constantly monitored which ultimately leads to the regulation
of sodium excretion?
What are the target cells of aldosterone? What is the action of aldosterone in the kidney?
What causes the juxtaglomerular cells to secrete renin?
What is the source and action of atrial natriuretic hormone? What lead to the secretion of
ANH?
What two stimuli serve to increase the secretion of vasopressin?
Where are osmoreceptors located and what do they sample?
Explain how bicarbonate ions in the ultrafiltrate are reabsorbed across the renal
epithelium.
What is the significance of carbonic anhydrase?
In what two forms are large amounts of hydrogen ions excreted in the urine?