Biology 20 - The Excretory System – KEY

1. Name the structures and indicate their functions by completing the following table:
Structure Function
1. Renal Artery Blood into kidney from aorta

2.Renal Vein Blood away from kidney (to inferior vena cava)

3.Aorta Blood travelling away from heart

4.Inferior Vena Cava Blood from lower body to heart

5.Kidney Removes waste from blood/makes urine

6.Ureter Transports urine from kidney(s) to bladder

7.Urinary Bladder Temporarily stores urine

8.Urethra Takes urine from bladder out of body

2. The volume of blood entering the kidney through the renal artery in one day is more than the volume
leaving through the renal vein. What does this tell you about where urine comes from?
Urine is an “extract” from the blood -> made up of water /wastes from arterial blood

If you study the overall structure of the kidney (Diagrams A and B), you will learn very little about how it
cleanses the blood. This is because the cleansing occurs in millions of microscopic nephrons. The renal
cortex of the kidney contains the curly parts of the nephrons. The renal medulla contains the long loops and
collecting ducts. These are shown in Diagram C.

3. Study the arrangement of the collecting ducts in relation to the renal pelvis. What does this indicate about
the function of the renal pelvis?
Renal pelvis acts as a funnel directing urine into the ureter
How the nephron cleanses the blood

Cleansing the blood of wastes, excess salts, and water can be compared to house cleaning. Cleaning out a
4. List all the components of whole blood, beginning with the largest particles. Note that some components are
waste molecules and some are useful. Some useful components occur in excess amounts.
- Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma proteins, nutrients (glucose, amino acids, fats,
phospholipids), hormones, wastes (urea), water, dissolved gases (nitrogen, oxygen), ions (Na+, Cl-, K+,
HCO3-)

Study the diagram of a nephron with its surrounding blood vessels that follows. Remember that blood
passes through two capillary beds as it flows around the nephron, and that exchange of components
between blood and surrounding tissues can only occur through thin capillary walls.

5. Identify where useful molecules and wastes are filtered out of the blood and into the nephron.
Glomerulus
6. Where are useful molecules reabsorbed from the nephron back into the blood?
Into the capillaries that surround the proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubule, and collecting duct
7. Which structure transports the waste molecules (urine) left behind after reabsorption?
Collecting duct
8. Which parts of the nephron are in the cortex of the kidney? Which parts penetrate deep into the medulla?
Cortex -> Bowman’s capsule, proximal, and distal tubules
Medulla -> Loop of Henle, Collecting duct
9. A common misconception is that “kidneys filter wastes out of the blood.” Use the words “filtration” and
“reabsorption” to explain why this statement is false.
In the nephron, both wastes and useful materials are filtered into the capsule because they are small. The
nephron then reabsorbs useful materials from the filtrate before they reach the collecting duct to prevent
them from being excreted. Kidneys are organs of reabsorption more so than organs of filtration. Filtration is
a passive process while reabsorption takes large amounts of ATP.
10. How does bulk flow of filtrate into the capsule differ from diffusion?
Diffusion – substances move from high to low concentration. Rate and direction depend on concentration.
Bulk flow – blood pressure pushes all particles small enough to fit through pores regardless of concentration.

11. In what ways is nephric filtration similar to formation of interstitial fluid (lymph) in other tissues in the
body?
Both are formed as blood pressure forces some water and small solutes form blood plasma through pores in the
capillary bed.

12. One of the effects of a drug overdose is a serious decrease in blood pressure. How might this affect kidney
function?
Blood pressure decrease leads to decreased blood flow and ultimately filtration stops.
- No urine formed
- Cells of kidney die due to lack of oxygen /glucose
- Kidney failure
13. Explain why blood cells and proteins are not usually found in the filtrate.
Too large to fit through pores of the glomerulus
14. Why are useful molecules like glucose and other nutrients found in the filtrate along with urea and other
wastes?
They are small enough to fit through the pores of the glomerulus

15. Sometimes bacterial infection causes nephritis—an inflammation of membranes in the glomerulus and
capsule. Large pores are created through which blood cells enter the nephron. What symptom would
indicate this problem?
- Blood in the urine (RBC)
- Cloudy urine (WBC)

16. In terms of energy costs to the cells in the proximal tubule, the reabsorption of salt (Na + and Cl–) and water
has been called a deal where we get “3 for the price of 1.” Explain.

“Price of 1” refers to active transport of Na+ -> needs ATP to go

against the concentration gradient
Chlorine ions follow sodium (electrostatic attraction) (doesn’t
require ATP, therefore “free”) and water follows due to
concentration gradient

17. What other useful substances, in addition to Na+, Cl–, and water,
are reabsorbed in the proximal tubule?
- Amino acids
- Other ions (Ca2+, K+, PO43-, SO42-)
- Vitamins
Use the following diagram, which shows a nephron lying within the
cortex and the medulla, and your textbook or other resource to
answer the questions below.
18. Why are the two parts of the nephron loop called “descending” and “ascending”?
Descending loop carries fluid towards renal medulla (middle)
Ascending loop carries fluid towards renal cortex (outer layer)

19. Explain the process of reabsorption from the descending loop.

Water is reabsorbed by osmosis as the filtrate descends because the tissue in the medulla becomes increasingly
salty with depth

20. Where is the highest concentration of Na+ found?

In the filtrate at the bottom of the loop of Henle

21. Explain the process of reabsorption from the ascending loop.

- At the base (start) of the ascending loop, Na+ diffuses from the filtrate into the capillaries
- Further up the ascending loop Na+ is actively transported out of the filtrate and Cl- follows passively
(electrostatic attraction)

22. Explain how reabsorption of ions and water occurs from the distal tubule.
Permeability varies depending on osmotic pressure of blood (hormones ADH and Aldosterone cause changes in
this)

Use this additional information to answer the next question.

Excess ions and other substances are added to the filtrate from the surrounding capillaries in a
process called tubular secretion. This has been called “reabsorption in reverse.”

23. List three examples of substances that are actively secreted into the filtrate. How is blood pH maintained by
tubular secretion?
- Drugs
- K+ and H+ (depends on concentration in blood)

The following table compares the composition of blood plasma, nephric filtrate, and urine. Study it carefully
and answer the questions that follow.

Comparison of concentrations of substances in Plasma, Filtrate and Urine (mg/100mL)

Substance Plasma Filtrate Urine Concentration
Change
Inorganic ions 0.9 0.9 <0.9 – 3.6 <1 – 4×
(all)
K+ 0.02 0.02 0.15 7.5×
Amino acids 0.05 0.05 none –
Proteins 8.0 none none –
Glucose 0.01 0.01 none –
Urea 0.03 0.03 1.8 60×
Note: The pH of blood plasma and filtrate is 7.4. The pH of urine is 4.8–7.5.

24. Study the concentrations of the ions, the amino acids, glucose and urea. Why are their concentrations in the
filtrate identical to those in the plasma?
They are all small enough to pass through the glomerulus into Bowman’s capsule to become part of the
filtrate

25. Neither glucose nor proteins are present in urine, but for different reasons. Explain.
 Glucose is reabsorbed from the filtrate back into the blood at the proximal tubule
Proteins are too large to pass through the glomerulus into the filtrate

26. Although urea (a waste molecule) undergoes less reabsorption than glucose, its concentration in the urine
has increased about 60-fold. Account for the increase.
More urea is secreted into the urine along the nephron

27. Give two reasons to explain why K+ is more concentrated in the urine than in the filtrate.
K+ is secreted at the distal tubule to become part of urine

28. Which ion accounts for the low pH of the urine? How and where is this ion transported into the urine? Why
is the elimination of this ion important to survival?
H+, at the distal tubule through active transport. A build up in H+ ions lowers the pH of blood (becomes acidic)