NUR 229 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Nephron, Creatinine, Electrolyte
Document Summary
It is a significant decline in kidney function that happens over a long period of time that leads to the build up of waste, water, and electrolyte imbalances in the body. The kidneys receive fresh blood from the heart and filters the blood via the nephrons (glomerulus), which creates a filtrate/urine that will progress through the rest of the nephron (renal tubule). The renal tubule will fine-tune the filtrate by pulling out water and ions. Then the substances left over will be excreted in the urine. Remember the glomerulus does not normally filter blood cells or proteins (just water, urea, creatinine, ions). In addition, creatinine is the only substance filtered by the glomerulus that is solely filtered from the bloodstream that is not reabsorbed within the renal tubule. Therefore, measuring creatinine levels in the urine/blood help us to determine the functionality of the kidneys, specifically the nephron.
