How Your Kidneys Work

the kidneys are located on either side of the spinal column in the posterior abdominal wall adrenal glands sit on top of the kidney the medary pyramid and outer cortex compose the renal lobe branches of the renal artery Supply each renal lobe the smallest branches of the renal artery called affrant arterials Supply the excretory components of the kidney called nephrons each nefron consists of a renal Corp pusle and a renal tubule the first step of urine production called glomular filtration occurs in the renal Corpus it consists of a network of capillaries called the glomerulus and Bone

's capsule the diameter of the afren arterial is larger than the ephant arterial this size difference produces high pressure within the glomerulus the pressure forces the smallest substances such as water nitrogenous waste amino acids glucose sodium ions and calci calcium ions out of the blood into Bowman's capsule through tiny spaces in the membrane separating them other substances such as plasma proteins and red blood cells are too large to pass through the membrane so they remain in the blood during the second step of urine production called tubular reabsorption the flu fluid passes through the renal tubule

which consists of the proximal convoluted tubule Loop of Henley distal convoluted tubule and collecting duct as the fluid passes through the renal tubule it reabsorbs useful substances into the peritubular capillaries specifically glucose amino acids and some sodium and calcium ions are reabsorbed by active transport the peritubular capillary reabsorbs water through osmosis the final step of urine production is tubular secretion which occurs primarily in the distal convoluted tubules these tubules extract larger nitrogenous wastes excess hydrogen ions and excess potassium ions from the peritubular capillaries and secrete them into the tubular fluid from here these wastes will

continue through the urinary system until they pass out of the body in urine