The Urinary System

Front 1

What are some functions of the kidneys?

Back 1

Regulate blood volume/chemical make up; gluconeogenesis; producing Renin and Erythropoietin; metabolizing vitamin D.

Front 2

What are the parts of the urinary system?

Back 2

Kidneys, Bladder, Ureters, Urethra.

Front 3

What are the 3 layers of supportive tissue around kidneys?

Back 3

Renal capsule (innermost), adipose capsule (middle), Renal fascia (outermost).

Front 4

Define renal ptosis.

Back 4

One or both kidneys drop to lower position.

Front 5

Define hydronephrosis.

Back 5

Backup of urine from ureteral obstruction or other causes.

Front 6

What are the 3 distinct regions of the kidney?

Back 6

Renal cortex, medulla and pelvis.

Front 7

Define pyelitis.

Back 7

Infection of renal pelvis and calyces.

Front 8

What are nephrons?

Back 8

Structural and functional units of kidneys. Each kidney contains 1 million.

Front 9

What does the renal corpuscle consist of?

Back 9

Glomerular capsule and enclosed glomerulus.

Front 10

What are the 3 parts of a renal tubule?

Back 10

Proximal Convuluted Tubule (PCT), Loop of Henle, and Distal Convoluted Tubule (DCT).

Front 11

What two capillary beds are associated with nephrons?

Back 11

Glomerulus and Peritubular.

Front 12

What are Justaglomerular (JG) cells?

Back 12

Enlarged, smooth muscle cells with prominent secetory granules containing renin.

Front 13

What is the filtration membrane?

Back 13

Porous membrane allowing free passage of water and solutes smaller than plasma proteins.

Front 14

What are the 3 layers of the filtration membrane?

Back 14

Fenestrated endothelium of the glomerular capillaries; podocyte-containing visceral layer of glomerular capsule; intervening basement membrane.

Front 15

How much oxygen does the kidneys consume?

Back 15

20 - 25% of all oxygen used by the body at rest.

Front 16

Define filtrate.

Back 16

Plasma-derived fluid that is processed by the renal tubules to form urine.

Front 17

How much fluid does the kidneys process and how much becomes urine?

Back 17

47 gallons; 1% becomes urine.

Front 18

What is glomerular filtration?

Back 18

Passive, nonselective process where hydrostatic pressure forces fluids and solutes through membrane.

Front 19

Define Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR).

Back 19

Volume of filtrate formed each minute by combined activity of all 2 million glomeruli of the kidneys.

Front 20

How is the GRF held constant in humans?

Back 20

By intrinsic (renal autoregulation) and extrinsic (neural and hormonal) controls which regulate renal blood flow.

Front 21

What 2 controls does renal autoregulation entail?

Back 21

Myogenic mechanism and tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism.

Front 22

What is myogenic mechanism?

Back 22

Tendency of vascular smooth muscle to contract when stretched.

Front 23

What is the purpose of the extrinsic controls regulating the Glomerular Filtration Rate?

Back 23

To maintain systemic blood pressure.

Front 24

What parts make up a nephron?

Back 24

A glomerulus and a renal tubule.

Front 25

What are the functions of collecting ducts?

Back 25

To receive urine from nephrons and help concentrate urine. Form medullary pyramids.

Front 26

What are the functions of nephrons?

Back 26

filtration, tubular reabsorption, tubular secretion.

Front 27

What is Anuria?

Back 27

Abnormally low urinary output that may indicate glomerular bp is too low to cause filtration.

Front 28

What actions take place during tubular reabsorption?

Back 28

Needed substances are removed from filtrate by tubule cells and returned to peritubular capillary blood.

Front 29

What drives passive tubular reabsorption?

Back 29

Electrochemical gradients established by active reabsorption of sodium ions.

Front 30

How does secondary active tubular reabsorption occur?

Back 30

By co-transport with Na+ via protein carriers. Transport is limited by number of carriers available.

Front 31

What substances are not reabsorbed and why?

Back 31

Creatinine, drug metabolites, etc. Reason: loack of carriers, size, or nonlipid solubility.

Front 32

What is the purpose of tubular secretion?

Back 32

An active process of adding substances to filtrate. Important in eliminating drugs, urea, excess ions, and maintaing acid-base balance of blood.

Front 33

What happens when antidiuretic hormone is absent?

Back 33

Dilute urine is formed because dilute filtrate reaching the collecting duct is simply allowed to pass from kidneys.

Front 34

What happens when antidiuretic hormone rises in the blood?

Back 34

Collecting ducts become more permeable to water, and water moves out of filtrate as it flows through hyperosmotic medullary areas.; concentrated urine produced in small amounts.

Front 35

Define facultative water reabsorption.

Back 35

Water reabsorption that depends on the presence of ADH.

Front 36

What is a diuretic?

Back 36

Chemical that enhances urinary output.

Front 37

What is an osmotic diuretic?

Back 37

Substance that is not reabsorbed and carries water out with it (diabetes mellitus).

Front 38

How do alcoholic drinks encourage diuresis?

Back 38

By inhibiting release of ADH.

Front 39

How do caffeine beverages and hypertension drugs encourage diuresis?

Back 39

By inhibiting Na+ reabsorption and obligatory water reabsorption that normally follows.

Front 40

What is renal clearance?

Back 40

Volume of plasma cleared of a particular substance in a given time, usually 1 minute.

Front 41

What is renal clearance used for?

Back 41

To determine the GFR, which provides info re: amount of functioning renal tissue, detect glomerular damage, and follow renal disease progress.

Front 42

What is the most abundant protein found in urine?

Back 42

Albumin.

Front 43

What tests are used to evaluate renal function?

Back 43

Creatinine clearance, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN).

Front 44

What races are most likely to develop renal failure?

Back 44

African Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives (4x).

Front 45

Why is it essential to know a drug's renal clearance?

Back 45

Because if it is high, the drug dosage must also be high and administered frequently to maintain therapeutic level.

Front 46

What is the color of freshly voided urine?

Back 46

Clear and pale to deep yellow.

Front 47

Where does urine's color come from?

Back 47

Urochrome, a pigment that results from body's destruction of hemoglobin.

Front 48

Under what circumstances may urine change to an abnormal color?

Back 48

Eating certain foods, presence of bile pigments or blood, prescribed drugs, vitamin supplements.

Front 49

What is the usual pH of urine?

Back 49

around 6.

Front 50

What activities cause the urine to become alkaline?

Back 50

Vegetarian diet, prolonged vomiting, bacterial infection of urinary tract.

Front 51

What is the chemical composition of urine?

Back 51

95% water, 5% solutes (Urea, Na+, K+, PO, SO, creatine, uric acid).

Front 52

What are ureters?

Back 52

Slender tubes that convey urine from kidneys to bladder.

Front 53

How do renal calculi (kidney stones) form?

Back 53

Calcium magnesium, or uric acid salts in urine crystallize and precipitate in the renal pelvis.

Front 54

What is the urinary bladder?

Back 54

Smooth, collapsible muscular sac that stores urine temporarily.

Front 55

What forms the trigone?

Back 55

Both ureters and urethra.

Front 56

What is significant about the trigone?

Back 56

Infections persist in this area.

Front 57

What are the 3 layers of the bladder?

Back 57

Mucosa, detrusor muscle, and adventitia.

Front 58

What is the maximum capacity of the bladder?

Back 58

800 - 1000 ml.

Front 59

What is the urethra?

Back 59

Thin-walled muscular tube that drains urine from bladder and conveys it out of body.

Front 60

What is the function of the internal urethral sphincter?

Back 60

Involuntary sphincter keeps urethra closed when urine is not being passed and prevents leakage.

Front 61

Define micturition.

Back 61

Aka voiding, urination. Act of emptying the bladder.

Front 62

What activities lead up to micturition?

Back 62

200 ml of urine accumulates; afferent impulses transmit to brain, creating urge to void; bladder contractions become frequent; voiding flexes initiated.

Front 63

In embryonic development, the ureteric buds eventually become what?

Back 63

Ureters.

Front 64

When do the metanephric kidneys begin functioning?

Back 64

By the 3rd month of fetal life.

Front 65

What parts of the urinary system develop from the cloaca?

Back 65

Rectum, anal canal and urogenital sinus.

Front 66

What parts of the urinary system develop from the urogenital sinus?

Back 66

Bladder and urethra.

Front 67

What are the 3 most common congenital abnormalities of the urinary system?

Back 67

Horseshoe kidney, hypospadias, and polycystic kidney.

Front 68

What is hypospadias?

Back 68

Found only in male infants; urethral orifice is located on ventral surface of penis.

Front 69

What is congenital polycystic kidney disease?

Back 69

Inherited condition where baby's kidneys have many urine-filled cysts.

Front 70

What is adult polycystic kidney disease?

Back 70

Inherited condition where cysts develop very gradually and produce no symptoms until age 40. Both kidney enlarge with chloride-rich fluid.

Front 71

How many times may a newborn void daily?

Back 71

5 to 40 times.

Front 72

What bacteria is responsible for most urinary tract infections?

Back 72

Escherichia coli

Front 73

What percentage of elderly have histologically normal kidneys?

Back 73

3%

Front 74

What happens to to bladder of an aged person?

Back 74

It shrinks to half the capacity of a young adult (250ml vs. 600ml).

Front 75

What is Diabetes Insipidus?

Back 75

Condition where large amounts of dilute urine flush from body, resulting in malfunction or deficiency of aquaporins or ADH receptors in collecting duct.