Lesson 5:

Biology 5090
Topic: Kidney failure
Conducted by: Miss Numaira Urooj
Importance of kidneys:
The kidneys are excretory organs. They play
an important role in excreting metabolic
waste products such as urea, excess water
and mineral salts, in the form of urine.
 The kidneys are Osmoregulators
It regulates the solute and water concentration in
the blood, thereby maintaining a constant water
potential.
During constant conditions, an increased intake of
liquid food, an increase rate of cellular respiration
or a reduction of sweat secretion by the skin will
increase the amount of water present in the blood.
In such cases, less water will be reabsorbed at the
nephrons, into the bloodstream, to maintain the
normal level of water in the body.
More water will be removed in the form of urine.
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When other conditions are constant, a
reduced intake of liquid food, a decreased
rate of cellular respiration or an increase in
sweat secretion by the skin will decrease the
amount of water present in the blood, more
water will be reabsorbed at the nephron.
Less water will be removed in the form of
urine.
What happens when the kidneys fail?
Common causes of kidney failure include:
 High blood pressure
 Diabetes
 Alcohol Abuse (constant heavy intake)
 Severe accidents that physically damage the
kidney
 Complications from undergoing major
surgery
Survival of a person after kidney failure.
If one kidney fails to function, the person
can still lead a normal life with the other
kidney.
But if both kidneys fail to function, the
person will die unless prompt medical
treatment is given
 Treatment of kidney failure
Patient with kidney failure may get a kidney
transplant.
A donor with two healthy kidneys may donate one
kidney and survive with remaining kidney.
If a donor kidney is not available, the patient can be
treated with dialysis using dialysis machine.
A dialysis machine mimics the function of a kidney.
It helps to clean the patient’s blood from metabolic
waste products and toxins.
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In order for the treatment to be effective,
the patients needs to undergo dialysis 2-3
times a week.
Each dialysis session lasts about 3-5
hours, depending on the patient’s body
size and medical condition.
How does dialysis machine work?

1. Blood is drawn from the vein in the

patients’ arm and is allowed to be
pumped through the tubing in a dialysis
machine.
2. The tubing is bathed with a specially
controlled dialysis fluid. The walls of the
tubing in the dialysis machine are
partially permeable.
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3. Small molecules, such as urea and other
metabolic waste products, diffuse out of
the tubing into the dialysis fluid. Blood
cells, platelets and large molecules
remain in the tubing.
4. The filtered blood is then returned to a
vein in the patient’s arm.
Features of a dialysis machine
The dialysis fluid contains the same
concentration of the essential substances as
healthy blood.
this ensures that essential substances (such as
glucose, amino acids and mineral salts) do not
diffuse out of the blood and into the dialysis
fluid.
If the patient’s blood lacks these substances,
they will diffuse from the dialysis fluid into the
blood
The dialysis fluid does not contain metabolic
waste products.
this set up a concentration gradient that allows
waste products such as urea. Uric acid,
creatinine and access water, mineral salts, to
diffuse out of the tubing into the dialysis
tubing.
The waste products are removed from the
blood. This maintains the correct solute
composition and water potential of the blood.
The tubing in the machine is narrow, long and
coiled.
this increases the surface area to volume ratio
which helps to speed up the rate of exchange of
substances b/w the patient’s blood and dialysis
fluid.
The direction of the blood flow is opposite to
the flow of the dialysis fluid.
this maintains the concentration gradient for
the removal of waste products.
Test yourself 11.5
The figure below shows how a dialysis
machine works.
a. Name two chemicals that will pass from the
blood into the dialyzing fluid.
b. By what process does the two chemicals pass
out of the tubing?
c. Name a constituent of a blood plasma that
does not pass out of the tubing.
d. What property must the wall of the tubing X
possess?