Malpighian corpuscle, PCT and DCT of the nephron are situated in the cortical region of the kidney whereas the loop of Henle dips into the medulla.
Afferent arteriole - a fine branch of renal artery entering Bowmen‟s capsule carrying blood to the glomerulus.
Efferent arteriole- Blood from the glomerulus is carried away by an efferent arteriole.
Bowman’s capsule - renal tubule begins with a double walled cup-like structure called Bowman’s capsule, which encloses the glomerulus.
Glomerular filtration / ultra filtration
First step in urine formation, is the filtration of blood, which is carried out by the glomerulus and is called glomerular filtration.
On an average,1100-1200 ml of blood is filtered by kidneys per minute which constitute roughly 1/5th of the blood pumped out by each ventricle of the heart per minute.
The glomerular capillary blood pressure causes filtration of blood through 3 layers, i.e., the endothelium of glomerular blood vessels, the epithelium of Bowman‟s capsule and a basement membrane between these two layers.
Podocytes– are epithelial cells of Bowman‟s capsule which are arranged in an intricate manner so as to leave some minute spaces called filtration slits or slit pores.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) -The amount of the filtrate formed by the kidneys per minute.
GFR in a healthy individual is approximately 125 ml/minute, i.e., 180 litres per day.
Regulation of glomerular filtration rate - The kidneys have built-in mechanisms for regulation of glomerular filtration rate.
