HISTOLOGY OF THE KIDNEY

‘WALE ADEYEMI
ANATOMY AND CELL BIOLOGY
FACULTY OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES
URINIFEROUS TUBULES
 The kidney is composed of many tortuous, closely
packed uriniferous tubules, bounded by a delicate
connective tissue in which run blood vessels,
lymphatics and nerves.
 Each tubule consists of two embryologically distinct
parts,
• the nephron, which produces urine, and
• the collecting duct, which completes the concentration
of urine and through which urine passes out of the
kidney to the ureter and urinary bladder.
URINIFEROUS TUBULES
 The nephron consists of
• a renal corpuscle, concerned with filtration from the
plasma, and
• a renal tubule, concerned with selective resorption and
secretion from the filtrate to form the urine.

 Collecting ducts carry fluid from several renal tubules

to a terminal papillary duct, opening into a minor calyx
at the apex of a renal papilla.
RENAL (MALPHIGIAN) CORPUSCLE
 Renal corpuscles are small rounded structures
averaging 0.2 mm in diameter, visible in the renal
cortex .
 There are one to two million renal corpuscles in each
kidney, their number decreasing with age.
 Each has a central glomerulus of vessels and a
Bowman‘s capsule, from which the renal tubule
originates.
 the glomerulus is surrounded by a double-walled
epithelial capsule called glomerular (Bowman's)
capsule.
RENAL (MALPHIGIAN) CORPUSCLE
 The internal layer (the visceral layer) of the capsule
envelops the capillaries of the glomerulus.
 The external layer forms the outer limit of the renal
corpuscle and is called the parietal layer of Bowman's
capsule.
 Between the two layers of Bowman's capsule is the
urinary space, which receives the fluid filtered
through the capillary wall and the visceral layer.
RENAL (MALPIGHIAN) CORPUSCLE
 Each renal corpuscle has a vascular pole, where the
afferent arteriole enters and the efferent arteriole
leaves , and a urinary pole, where the proximal
convoluted tubule begins
GLOMERULUS
 A glomerulus is a collection of convoluted capillary
blood vessels, united by a delicate mesangial matrix.
 It is supplied by an afferent arteriole which enters the
capsule opposite the urinary pole and leaves the
capsule as efferent arteriole.
BOWMAN CAPSULE
 Bowman's capsule is the blind expanded end of a
renal tubule, and is deeply invaginated by the
glomerulus.
 It is lined by a simple squamous epithelium on its
outer (parietal) wall;
 its glomerular, juxtacapillary (visceral) wall is
composed of specialized epithelial podocytes.
 Between the two walls of the capsule is a flattened
urinary space, continuous with the proximal
convoluted tubule.
BOWMAN CAPSULE
 The basal lamina of the visceral capsular podocytes is
shared with that of the glomerular endothelium.
 Podocytes surrounding the capillary loops are stellate
cells, whose major (primary) foot processes curve
around capillaries.
 The glomerular endothelium is finely fenestrated.
 The principal barrier to the passage of fluid from
capillary lumen to urinary space is the shared
endothelial and podocyte basal lamina (called the
glomerular basement membrane)
BOWMAN CAPSULE
 Irregular mesangial cells, with phagocytic,secretory,
supportive and contractile properties, lie within the
delicate supportive mesangial matrix (mesangium) of
the glomerulus, which they(mesangial cells) secrete.
 The mesangium is a specialized connective tissue
which binds the loop of glomerular capillaries and fills
the spaces between endothelial surfaces that are not
invested by podocytes
 RENAL TUBULE
 A renal tubule consists of a glomerular(bowman)
capsule leading into a proximal convoluted tubule,
connected to the capsule by a short neck which
continues into a sinuous or coiled convoluted part .
 This straightens as it approaches the medulla and
becomes the descending thick limb of the loop of
Henle which is connected to the ascending limb by an
abrupt U-turn.
 RENAL TUBULE
 The limbs of the loop of Henle are narrower and thin-
walled as they traverse the deeper medullary tissue,
forming the descending and ascending thin segments.
 The ascending thick limb continues into the distal
tubule.
 The tubule wall shows a focal thickening, the macula
densa, where it comes close to the vascular pole of
its parent glomerulus at the start of the convoluted
part of the distal tubule.
 RENAL TUBULE
 The nephron finally straightens once more as the
connecting tubule, which ends by joining a collecting
duct.
 Collecting ducts originate in the cortical medullary
rays and join others at intervals.
 They finally open into wider papillary ducts (of Bellini)
which open on to a renal papilla.
 The numerous orifices of papillary ducts form a
perforated area cribrosa on the surface at its tip
 RENAL TUBULE
 The proximal convoluted tubule is lined by cuboidal
or low columnar epithelium and has a brush border
of tall microvilli on its luminal surface.
 PCT is about 14 mm long and about 60 μm in
diameter
 The loop of Henle consists of a thin segment (30 μm
in diameter), lined by low cuboidal to squamous cells,
and a thick segment (60 μm in diameter) composed
of cuboidal cells like those in the distal convoluted
tubule.
 RENAL TUBULE
 Cells of the distal tubule are cuboidal and resemble
those in the proximal tubule.
 They have few microvilli, and so the tubular lumen
has a more distinct outline.
JUXTAGLOMERULAR APPARATUS
 The juxtaglomerular apparatus play a role in the
maintainance of systemic arterial blood pressure
during a reduction in vascular volume and decrease in
filtration rate.
 The afferent and efferent arterioles at the vascular
pole of a glomerulus and the macula densa of the
distal tubule of the same nephron lie in close
proximity, enclosing a small cone of tissue populated
by extraglomerular mesangial (lacis) cells.
JUXTAGLOMERULAR APPARATUS
 The cells of the tunica media of the afferent and, to
lesser extent, efferent, arterioles has modified
smooth muscle cells called juxtaglomerular cells differ
from typical smooth muscle cells.
 These cells are large, rounded cells and their
cytoplasm contains many mitochondria and dense,
renin-containing vesicles.
JUXTAGLOMERULAR APPARATUS
 se in blood volume = se in RBF Bp

 JG cells become sensitive to se in BP and secrete

renin
 Renin act on angiotensinogen in the blood and
convert it to angiotensin I
 Angiotensin I is converted to angiotensin II by ACE
 Angiotensin II se vascular resistance which in turn
increase BP