Excretory System

Kidney
Colour • Reddish Brown
Shape • Bean
Weight • 120 to 170 gm
• Between the levels of
Position ▪ Last thoracic and
▪ 3rd Lumbar Vertebrae
Right < Left • Slightly lower because space occupied by liver
Length • 10 – 12 cm
Width • 5 – 7 cm
Height • 2 – 3 cm
Ureters
Length • 25 – 30 cm
Width • 3 cm
Urinary Bladder
Capacity • 400 – 600 mL
Controlled by • Internal Urethral Sphincter (Involuntary control)
Urethra
Controlled by • External Urethral Sphincter (Voluntary control)
Kidney
Anatomy
Hilum Ureter, Blood vessels and Nerves enter into kidney
Renal Pelvis A Broad funnel shaped space inner to hilum with
projections called calyces
Outer Layer It is a tough fibrous capsule
Inside Kidney There are two zones
1. Medulla Is devided into few conical masses projecting into the
calyces
2. Cortex Extends in between medullary pyramids as renal
columns and called Columns of Bertini
Functions
Formation of Urine Maintaining water, electrolyt and acid – base balance
Excretion of Waste Products
Production and Erythropoietin (Hormone) Stimulate formation of blood vessels
Secretion of Renin (Enzyme) Important in long term control of blood pressure
Nephron
Total • 1 Million Nephrons are there in kidneys
What are they? • Functional units of Kidneys
• Glomerulus
Parts
• Renal Tubule
Glomerulus
• A tuft of capillaries formed by the afferent arteriole
Glomerulus
• Blood from glomerulus is carried away by the efferent arteriole
Renal Tubule
• Renal tubule Begins with this capsule
• It is double walled cup liked structure
Bowman' Capsule
• It enclosed the glomerulus
• Glomerulus + Bowman's Capsule = Malphigian Body or Renal Capsule
PCT • Tubule continues to form highly coiled network (Proximal Convoluted Tubule)
Henle' Loop • It has an ascending and descending limb
DCT • Another highly coiled network (Distal Convoluted Tubule)
• The DCT's of many nephrons opens into a straight tube called CD
Collecting Duct • Many of which converge and opens into the renal pelvis through medullary pyramids in
the calyces
Cortical Region • Malphigian corpuscle, PCT and DCT of the nephron are situated
Medulla • Loop of Henle dips into medulla

Cortical Nephrons Juxta Medullary Nephrons

Loop Of Henle Too Short Too Long
Into Medulla Extends only very little Runs deep
How many Majority Some of the nephrons

Peritubular • The efferent arteriole emerging from the glomerulus forms a fine capillary network
Capillaries around the renal tubule called the peritubular capillaries.
• A minute vessel of this network runs parallel to the Henle's loop forming a U – Shaped
Vasa Recta Vasa Recta
• Vasa Recta is absent or highly reduced in cortical nephrons
Urine Formation
1. Glomerular Filteration
Steps in urine
2. Reabsorption
formation
3. Secretion
Glomerular or Ultra filteration
• The first step is urine formation is the filteration of blood.
Blood Filteration • It is carried out by Glomerulas
• Hence it is called Glomerular Filteration
How much Blood is • On an average, 1,100 – 1,200 ml / Minute
filtered • This constitues , 1/5 of Blood pumped out by each ventricle of the heart per minute
Three layers 1. Endothelium of Glomerular blood vessels
involved in this 2. Epithelium of Bowman's Capsule (Podo Cytes / Filteration slits / Slit pores)
Filteration 3. Basement membrane between the two layers
Why it is called • Blood is filtered so finely through these membranes that almost all the constitues of the
ultra filteration plasma except the proteins pass onto the lumen of bowmans capsule.
• The amount of the filtrate formed by the kidneys per minute is called glomerular
GFR filtration rate (GFR).
• GFR in a healthy individual is approximately 125 ml/minute, i.e., 180 litres per day !
• The kidneys have built-in mechanisms for the regulation of glomerular filtration rate.
• One such efficient mechanism is carried out by juxta glomerular apparatus (JGA).
Regulation of GFR • A fall in GFR can activate the JG cells to release renin which can stimulate the glomerular
blood flow and thereby the GFR back to normal.
Reabsorption
• A comparison of the volume of the filtrate formed per day (180 litres per day) with that
of the urine released (1.5 litres), suggest that nearly 99 per cent of the filtrate has to be
Reabsorption
reabsorbed by the renal tubules.
• This process is called reabsorption.
• The tubular epithelial cells in different segments of nephron perform this either by
Transport active or passive mechanisms.
Mechanisms • Acive Mechanisms – Substances like glucose, amino acids, Na+, etc.,
• Passive Mechanisms – Nitrogenous wastes
Also occurs • Reabsorption of water also occurs passively in the initial segments of the nephron
Secretion
During the urine • Substances like H+, K+ and ammonia into the filtrate.
formation, tubular
cells secrete
Importance of • It helps in the maintenance of ionic and acid base balance of body fluids.
tubular Secretion
Functions of the Tubules
PCT
• PCT is lined by simple cuboidal brush border epithelium which increases the surface
PCT is lined by
area for reabsorption.
• Nearly all of the essential nutrients
Reabsorption • 70-80 per cent of Electrolytes
• Water
To maintain the pH • By selective secretion of Hydrogen ions, ammonia and potassium ions into the filtrate
and ionic balance of • By absorption of HCO3 – from it.
the body fluids
Henle's Loop
• Reabsorption is minimum in its ascending limb.
Reabsorption • However, this region plays a significant role in the maintenance of high osmolarity of
medullary interstitial fluid.
• Permeable to water
Descending limb • Almost impermeable to electrolytes
• This concentrates the filtrate as it moves down.
• Impermeable to water
• Allows transport of electrolytes actively or passively.
Ascending limb • Therefore, as the concentrated filtrate pass upward, it gets diluted due to the passage
of electrolytes to the medullary fluid.
DCT
Reabsorption • Conditional reabsorption of Na+ and water takes place in this segment.
• Reabsorption – HCO3 – and
Also capable of
• Selective secretion – Hydrogen and Potassium ions and NH3
To maintain • The pH and sodium-potassium balance in blood.
Collecting Duct
Extends • This long duct extends from the cortex of the kidney to the inner parts of the medulla.
To Produce a • Large amounts of water could be reabsorbed from this region to produce a
concentrated Urine concentrated urine
To keep up the • This segment allows passage of small amounts of urea into the medullary interstitium
osmolarity to keep up the osmolarity.
Maintenance of pH • It also plays a role in the maintenance of pH and ionic balance of blood by the selective
and Ionic balance of secretion of H+ and K+ ions
blood
Mechanishm of concentration of the filterate
• Mammals have the ability to produce a concentrated urine.
Concentrated Urine
• The Henle’s loop and vasa recta play a significant role in this.
Counter current in • The flow of filtrate in the two limbs of Henle’s loop is in opposite directions and thus
Henle's loop forms a counter current.
Counter current in • The flow of blood through the two limbs of vasa recta is also in a counter current
Vasa Recta pattern

• The proximity between the Henle’s loop and vasa recta, as well as the counter current
in them help in maintaining an increasing osmolarity towards the inner medullary
To keep Osmolarity interstitium, i.e., from 300 mOsmolL–1 in the cortex to about 1200 mOsmolL–1 in the
inner medulla.
• This gradient is mainly caused by NaCl and urea.

Transported by The ascending limb of Henle’s loop

NaCl Which is Exchanged with The descending limb of vasa recta.
Transport of
Returned to The interstitium by The ascending portion of vasa recta.
substances
Enter the thin segment of The ascending limb of Henle’s loop
Urea
Which is Transported back to The interstitium by the collecting tubule

counter current • The above described transport of substances facilitated by the special arrangement
mechanism of Henle’s loop and vasa recta is called the counter current mechanism.
 • This mechanism helps to maintain a concentration gradient in the medullary
interstitium.
• Presence of such interstitial gradient helps in an easy passage of water from the
collecting tubule thereby concentrating the filtrate (urine).
Production of Human kidneys can produce urine nearly four times concentrated than the initial
concentrated Urine filtrate formed.

Micturition
• Urine formed by the nephrons is ultimately carried to the urinary bladder
Storage
• It is stored there till a voluntary signal is given by the central nervous system (CNS).
• This signal is initiated by the stretching of the urinary bladder as it gets filled with
Stimulus
urine.
• In response, the stretch receptors on the walls of the bladder send signals to the CNS.
The CNS passes on motor messages to initiate the contraction of smooth muscles of
Response
the bladder and simultaneous relaxation of the urethral sphincter causing the release
of urine.
• The process of release of urine is called micturition and the neural mechanisms
Micturition Reflex
causing it is called the micturition reflex.
Composition of Urine
Amount • 1 to 1.5 litres of urine per day.
• Light yellow coloured watery fluid
Characteristics • Slightly acidic (pH-6.0)
• Has a characterestic odour.
• Water – 96 %
Constituents
• Urea – 2% (25-30gm per day is excreted)
• Helps in clinical diagnosis of many metabolic discorders as well as malfunctioning of
the kidney.
Analysis of Urine
• For example, presence of glucose (Glycosuria) and ketone bodies (Ketonuria) in urine
are indicative of diabetes mellitus.